Walking the Line
by Winter-Dragon
Summary: In the aftermath of 'Wrecked', Willow learns of her destiny - one that seemingly pits her against Angel (Willow/Angel friendship). ***Part 10 Added: Everyone struggles to deal with the ramifications of Tara’s death.***
1. Part One

TITLE: Walking the Line  
AUTHOR: Winter  
EMAIL ADDRESS: winteryuu@hotmail.com   
DISTRIBUTION: My site (The Course of True Love), FanFiction.net, and anyone who already has any of my fics archived. Anybody else, just let me know where it's going.  
SPOILERS: Everything up through "Wrecked" on Buffy and "Billy" on Angel is fair game, but the Darla/baby/Holtz storyline doesn't exist and Angel is not developing feelings for Cordelia.  
RATING: PG-13  
SUMMARY: In the aftermath of "Wrecked", Willow learns of her destiny - one that seemingly pits her against Angel. (Willow/Angel friendship)  
DISCLAIMER: "Buffy" and "Angel" are owned by Joss Whedon, etc, etc. I make no claims.  
FEEDBACK: Please?  
  
PART ONE  
  
"Wesley!" Fred smiled as she saw the man enter the lobby of the hotel. "Good morning! It's good to see you, well, not that I normally don't, but..." Fred smiled at him sheepishly and exhaled, "how are you feeling?"  
  
Wesley cleared his throat and smiled at Fred before hastily looking away, "I'm fine, Fred, thank you for asking. And you?" He couldn't help feeling a bit awkward around the girl, even after their many conversations about...the events with Billy. He knew that she'd forgiven him, and that she was constantly trying her best to make him feel at ease, but he couldn't forgive himself for the way that he'd lost control.  
  
"Oh, well I'm doing just great," Fred declared, taking Wesley by the hand and leading him to sit next to her at the receptionist's desk where Cordelia and Gunn were already seated reading the morning paper. "I had the most interesting dream last night. Most of it is fading, really, but I remember having a fascinating discussion with my physics professor from college--which is odd that I would dream of her, 'cause I haven't really thought much about her in the last, oh, seven years or so, but she was a real fine lady--and anyhow, we were talking about this research that she was doing in quantum mechanics regarding the theories that time isn't really a flowing entity but rather a sequence of discontinuous moments, and she had set up this..." Fred trailed off as she noticed the wide-eyed stares she was getting from her companions. "And I don't really remember the rest," she finished quietly, looking down at her hands.  
  
"The rest of what?" Angel asked, coming into the room.  
  
"Of one highly technical dream--and please don't ask about the details," Gunn pleaded, "I really don't like having that many words fly over my head at one time."  
  
"Well, as long as it didn't involve demons or prophecies or an upcoming apocalypse, we're good," Angel shrugged and moved to stand next to Gunn.  
  
"What did you have to say that for?" Cordelia groaned.  
  
"What?" Angel asked, perplexed.  
  
"Now we're just going to end up finding some new prophecy about demons bringing about the end of the world and--"  
  
"--and that's new how?" Gunn cut her off, "'Cause the way I see it, that's pretty much become our daily routine."  
  
"Well, on the bright side, it does provide us with a never-ending array of..." Wesley feigned coughing after catching Cordelia's disbelieving glare, "I wasn't saying anything."  
  
Cordelia sighed and rolled her eyes, "Well, at least the past couple of days have been fairly... ah!" she cried out as a new blinding vision struck her, and she brought her hand up to cradle her throbbing head.  
  
"Cordy?" Angel asked worriedly, coming to stand next to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder as he waited for her to look up at him. After a few moments, Cordelia drew in a shaky breath and turned to look at the concerned faces of her friends. She knew that they were all gaining an increasingly apprehensive attitude about her visions and the pain that it was causing her, so she did her best to relieve some of their worry. "Spoke too soon," she smiled warily. "Uh, it wasn't as bad this time, really, but..." she trailed off, turning to look up at Angel.  
  
"What?" Angel asked, growing more nervous at the look in her eyes.  
  
"It was about Willow."  
  
"What?!" Angel exclaimed, "is she in trouble? Is something happening in Sunnydale?"  
  
"I don't know," Cordelia shrugged helplessly. "This vision was...different. I didn't get a sense of danger...it was more...I don't know...just *urgent.*"  
  
"Urgent how?" Wesley inquired, his curiosity peaked. "What did you see?"  
  
"Willow, just lying there. Shaking, sweating, crying. I don't know. I got this feeling of...emptiness. Desperation? It's hard to place."  
  
"And you can't tell anything more?" Angel asked. Cordelia shook her head apologetically, "I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay," Angel reassured her. "Maybe I'll just give Willow a call and see what's up."  
  
"That sounds like a good idea," Cordelia stood, shaking slightly. Angel reached out his arm to steady her, and she sent him a grateful smile. "I'll be fine. Just gonna get some water. Willow's number is on the rolodex in Wesley's office. You should probably call right away."  
  
"Yeah," Angel nodded, sending Cordelia once last worried glance before heading into the office. He was really starting to get concerned over Cordelia's increasing trouble with the visions. He knew she was playing it low-key for their benefit, and he made a silent vow to try and figure out some way to help her.  
  
Angel quickly found the card with Willow's information and noted that she was staying at Buffy's house. After dialing the familiar number, he leaned back into the chair and waited for an answer.  
  
***  
  
Willow groaned as she opened her eyes, the harsh sunlight burning into them. She had barely slept at all, what with the memories of the previous night playing themselves over and over in her head. Willow shuddered involuntarily and pulled the covers tightly around her. Not wanting to get out of bed, Willow closed her eyes again and tried to will away the unwanted thoughts, but she knew she had to face them. She had to face Buffy, Tara...Dawn.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Willow sat up and turned her head to the side to stare at the empty space next to her. Her heart ached at the thought of Tara hearing all about her behavior last night, and she imagined the look of betrayal that would mar her pretty features, the pain that would flash in her eyes.  
  
Willow placed her head in her hands as she fought back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. Now was not the time to break down, she told herself. Now was the time to be strong, resolute. She had to be, or she would lose the only people in this world that she cared about, assuming she hadn't lost them already.  
  
After spending a few minutes calming herself down, Willow lifted her head up and moved off the bed to get ready. As she set about her daily morning routine, Willow found that she had to forcefully keep herself from using her magick. She hadn't realized how dependent she'd become on it, using it for everything from floating her hairbrush to her to automatically clothing herself. When had it gotten to the point that the magick had ingrained itself into every minute action of her life?  
  
Just as Willow was about to head out of the room and face whatever the day decided to throw at her, the phone rang, shrilly cutting into the silence. Willow waited for a couple of rings to pass, hoping someone else would answer it. She really wasn't in the mood to speak with anyone right now. After the fourth ring, Willow sighed and reached for the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Willow?"  
  
"Angel?" Willow's mind immediately went into panic mode. She hadn't spoken with anyone in L.A. in weeks, and even then, it was normally Cordelia that she spoke with. Angel's calling set off all sorts of alarm bells. "Is everything alright?"  
  
"Funny, that's what I was going to ask you," Angel replied, "is anything particularly odd happening there?"  
  
Willow paused for a moment at his question. Odd? Well, nothing was odd, but there were a few things that were horribly, terribly wrong. "Not that I'm aware of," Willow began, choosing her words carefully. For the first time, she wondered if Buffy had told Angel about having been pulled out of Heaven during their rendezvous. A part of her hoped that she hadn't; she couldn't take it if Angel hated her, too. "Unless you're referring to a diamond-stealing ice demon."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Uh, nothing. Angel, is there something in particular that we should be looking out for?"  
  
Angel had caught Willow's momentary silence, and he considered the tone of her voice for a moment. Something was different. It was almost as if she was tired, defeated. Her normally melodious voice was instead dull, hollow.  
  
"I'm not really sure," Angel began. For some reason, he didn't think he should tell Willow of Cordelia's vision. On impulse, he asked her, "Do you think you could swing by L.A. for a day or so?"  
  
"Okay, you lost me. Is this oddness happening here or in L.A?"  
  
"Well, I'm not sure."  
  
Willow groaned inwardly at his vagueness. "You're going to have to be a bit more forthcoming than that, Angel. You're starting to scare me."  
  
Angel sighed as he considered what to say. If he was intended to protect Willow from something, it would probably be easier for him to do it in L.A. rather than traveling to Sunnydale. He just had to think of a way to get her here without scaring her. "Well, you see, we need some help with this spell..."  
  
Willow froze at Angel's words. Her mind blocked out the rest of what he was saying, instead focusing on the word 'spell.' She could feel her palms begin to sweat and her heart hammering away in her chest. She struggled to control her suddenly ragged breathing as she fought the impulse to yell into the phone that she would be there right away. The thought of going to L.A. to help Angel with this spell was tantalizing...she could return to using magick for good...she could help people. Isn't that why she had started in the first place? Yes, she would go to L.A. and help Angel by performing this spell...by using her magick...she would use her magick...  
  
The vision of Dawn's terrified eyes suddenly flashed in Willow's mind as a fresh wave of memories hit her: Dawn's disappointment, fear, screams, the look of revolt in Dawn's eyes, the sting of the slap across her cheek, Buffy's cold eyes staring at her, the steely voice telling her to stay away...  
  
"Willow? Willow, what's wrong? What's happening?" Angel's worried questions bombarded against deaf ears. It had been several minutes since he'd stopped speaking, and Willow had yet to answer him. He knew she was still there, he could hear her labored breathing. "Willow!"  
  
The sound of Angel's forceful voice brought her mind back into focus, and Willow shook her head emphatically as she spoke, "No! I...I can't help you, Angel. I'm sorry. I just can't." And with that, she slammed the phone down into the receiver and sank to the floor, shaking violently, sobs wracking her body.  
  
***  
  
Angel sat in shock for several moments, listening to the sound of the dial tone buzzing in his ears. What had just happened? Something was terribly wrong with Willow, he was certain of it. But what? And what in the world was he supposed to do?  
  
After gently hanging up the phone, Angel stood up and made his way back into the lobby. The others looked up at him expectantly, but he had no idea what to say.  
  
"Angel?" Fred inquired softly.  
  
"She... I don't know," Angel shrugged.  
  
Cordelia stood up walked over to Angel. "What do you mean? What happened?"  
  
"I tried to think of some way to get her to L.A, I figured she would be safer here. So I made some story about needing help with a spell and--"  
  
"--that's good!" Cordelia broke in, "I mean, Willow's getting really good with magick, and I think she really enjoys it, and--"  
  
"--she freaked," Angel finished.  
  
"What?" Cordelia looked at him in confusion.  
  
"Something came over her and she hung up on me."  
  
"And she gave no indication of demon trouble?" Wesley asked.  
  
"No," Angel shook his head, "I think it's something else altogether."  
  
"And I didn't see any big uglies in my vision," Cordelia offered.  
  
"But the Powers sent you that vision for a reason," Angel began a bit absent-mindedly. "I know that something is wrong, and I intend to find out what it is."  
  
END PART ONE 


	2. Part Two

PART TWO  
  
Willow took a deep breath as she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. The tears had stopped flowing an hour ago, and she had finally managed to regain control of her motor functions twenty minutes later, but she still couldn't bring herself to make the effort to get up off the floor. Instead she had just laid there, her mind blissfully numb, as she struggled to overcome her catatonia.  
  
Looking around the room, Willow noted once again how quiet and empty it all seemed. Needing to escape that quiet, if even for a few minutes, Willow decided to try and find Buffy, to talk to her some more. She needed to talk. Willow got onto her hands and knees and pushed herself off the floor, wobbling slightly as she stood. After taking another few moments to calm her nerves down, Willow left her room and headed downstairs to see if Buffy was there.  
  
She found the Slayer in the kitchen, seated at the counter and eating a sandwich. Willow noticed Buffy tense ever so slightly as she appeared in the doorway, and her heart constricted. Her best friend didn't even trust her anymore.  
  
"Hey," Willow greeted.  
  
"Hey," Buffy gave her a tight smile.  
  
Willow could feel the tension in the air, like a palpable entity, and she struggled for something, anything to say. "You're, uh, you're probably wondering who called...over an hour ago."  
  
Buffy lifted an eyebrow and responded, "Actually, I was out. Walking Dawn to school. She was still a bit wigged about..."  
  
"Last night," Willow lowered her head in shame.  
  
"Yeah," Buffy nodded slightly. "So, who called?"  
  
"Huh?" Willow looked up and caught Buffy's expectant gaze. "Oh, um, it was a wrong number."  
  
"Oh." After a few moments of tense silence, Buffy finally spoke, "You, uh, you want something to eat?"  
  
"That would be good," Willow nodded and walked hesitantly towards the counter, not quite sure if she was welcome.  
  
"You can make yourself a sandwich," Buffy offered, "or there's probably other stuff in the fridge."  
  
"A sandwich sounds good."  
  
"And you can sit down, you know. I promise to only bite the sandwich."  
  
Willow felt a bit of the tension seep out of the room at Buffy's words, and she was grateful. "Right, I know... I just..." Willow found herself grasping for words. "How is Dawn?"  
  
"Sit," Buffy commanded. Willow plopped herself down on the stool across from Buffy and waited, knowing that look in Buffy's eyes. She had something to say.  
  
"Look, Will," Buffy began, catching on her name slightly. "You know that there are a lot of things that still need to be worked out."  
  
"Yeah, I know." After a slight pause, Willow continued, "Buffy, I'm so sorry--"  
  
"--I've heard it already," Buffy cut her off, "And you don't need to keep apologizing. At least to me; Dawn, maybe. At least until she tells you to shut up, if she'll even listen to anything you have to say."  
  
"Buffy..."  
  
"I'm just trying to explain how she feels. Willow, we all make mistakes. We all get caught up in things that we can't handle, get in over our heads, do things we shouldn't do. I can understand that. But you have to understand that it's gonna take some time for Dawn to feel comfortable around you again, and even more time for her to feel safe around you, and even then, she still won't trust you."  
  
"And here I thought you were leading up to the 'everything's gonna be okay' speech," Willow joked nervously.  
  
"It's not going to be okay," Buffy shook her head, those dead eyes staring into her own frightened ones. Dead...  
  
"I know," Willow looked away.  
  
"At least not right away," Buffy continued softly. "She does still love you, you know. She's just hurt, frightened."  
  
"Of me."  
  
"Can you blame her?"  
  
Willow shook her head. "I can't. But Buffy, you have to believe that I will try--am trying--my hardest to make up for this. I, I've learned my lesson; I understand now what Tara was trying to protect me from, and I promise you that I am putting magick behind me."  
  
"Good," Buffy smiled. Willow caught a hint of warmth behind the smile and returned one of her own, filled with as much love, gratefulness, and repentance as she could muster. She just hoped it was enough.  
  
***  
  
Angel stood across the street from the familiar house, gazing at the dim lights that were shining through various windows. He had left L.A. right after sunset and had driven immediately to the Summers' residence upon arriving in Sunnydale; well, technically, he had driven to about two blocks down and had walked the rest of the way.  
  
He hadn't originally intended to come back; a part of him felt as if he no longer had a place in this town, and the fewer visits the better. But, after his conversation with Willow and the second vision that Cordelia had received, he decided he had to return, he had to figure out what was so important that the Powers would send Cordelia two consecutive visions.  
  
He and the others had been discussing what could possibly be wrong with Willow, what they could do to help, when Cordelia had gotten her second vision: that of Willow floating in place, here eyes completely void of color, a black aura surrounding her frame. Cordelia had said that the sense of urgency was even greater this time, but apart from that, no new information was given. But now Angel was certain that magick played an integral part of whatever it was that the Powers were trying to tell him about Willow. He just hoped that Willow herself would be able to tell him the rest.  
  
Angel pondered whether or not he should just wait where he was to gather a better idea of who was in the house, or if he should just go and knock on the door and hope that Willow answered. He really didn't feel like explaining his presence to anyone else, especially Buffy. After their earlier meeting, he didn't think he was ready to face her again.  
  
Fortunately, Angel didn't have to make a decision. At that moment, he saw the redhead leave the house, and he followed her for a while as she walked down the street. She didn't seem to have a particular destination in mind, or maybe she did and was simply hesitant about arriving there.  
  
Willow didn't notice the shadow following her as she walked. Instead, her mind was busy rehearsing what she would say to Tara. She knew that going to visit Tara was the right thing to do; she had to hear about what happened last night, and she had to hear it from Willow. But it didn't make the inevitable confrontation any less frightening. How would Tara react? What would she say? Would she end up pitying her? Hating her? The last thought froze Willow in her tracks, and for a moment she considered turning back.  
  
Angel watched as Willow suddenly stopped in the middle of her stride and wondered what she could possibly be thinking. Deciding it was time to make his presence known, Angel called out to her, "Willow?"  
  
Willow whirled around, frantic eyes searching out the source of the voice. Angel stepped out of the shadows and into her line of sight. "It's just me," he reassured her.  
  
"Angel," Willow visibly relaxed only for a moment before tensing up again. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to see you," he moved towards her, "after our conversation... I couldn't just leave it like that."  
  
Willow forced a laugh, "It was nothing, really. I just...haven't been feeling well. You shouldn't have come here. If you're looking for help with that spell, I'm sure you can find some other--"  
  
"There is no spell, Willow," Angel shook his head. As he gazed at her, he noticed how pale she was, how tired. Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she had just been crying recently, and the sparkle that he remembered so well was missing.   
  
"What?" Willow demanded.  
  
"I only said that to try and get you to come to L.A; I didn't want to mention this earlier, because I didn't want to scare you, but, if telling you is the only way to find out what's going on here, then--"  
  
"Angel, what are you talking about?" Willow felt herself getting slightly annoyed. The last thing she needed right now was Angel playing cryptic games with her.  
  
"Cordelia had a vision," Angel sighed, trying his best to explain something he himself didn't understand, "about you."  
  
Willow lifted a curious eyebrow. If Cordelia's vision was supposed to save her from something, it was already too late. "And?"  
  
"And, it wasn't very informative," Angel supplied. "All she saw was you."  
  
"Without any gruesome demons trying to eat me?"  
  
"No. No demons. No danger to save you from. Just you."  
  
"Maybe I'm the danger," Willow whispered softly.  
  
Angel heard her words and they chilled him. "What is going on here, Willow? I want to help you, I'm here to help you, but I can't do that if you don't talk to me."   
  
Willow looked up at him with such tortured eyes that Angel had to consciously restrain himself from gathering her in his arms and offering soft words of comfort.  
  
Willow wondered why Cordelia would be getting a vision about her. Was she so far gone that she needed Angel's help? Could he help her? Or was she a monster that Angel was supposed to destroy? And why did the Powers even care? Willow sighed audibly as she looked at Angel's silently pleading face. In the last twenty-four hours, she had seen mainly distrust, loathing, pity, and fright on the faces of the people she loved. Angel's face held none of those.  
  
"Will you promise not to hate me?" Willow finally spoke.  
  
"I could never hate you," Angel told her, placing his arm across her shoulders and drawing her into an awkward hug.  
  
"Stick around a few minutes, you might change your mind." Her voice was laced with such self-loathing that Angel was struck with an odd sense of deja vu.  
  
"What's happened?" he asked again.  
  
And so Willow proceeded to tell him the entire story.  
  
***  
  
"Alright, this better be good," Lilah fumed as she stormed into the office of Wolfram & Hart's ancient texts translator. "I just got called out of a very important meeting because you supposedly have some extremely urgent news to tell me."  
  
The man nodded emphatically, "Yes, yes; very urgent."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Right," the man continued to nod, "you remember those scrolls you, ahem, had, uh, photocopied about a year-and-a-half ago? The Prophecies of Aberjian?"  
  
"Yes, those were the scrolls that Angel stole from us," Lilah stated, obviously annoyed, "so you better be glad that I photocopied them, otherwise you wouldn't have them to study right now, would you?"  
  
"No, of course not, you're right," the man apologized hastily.  
  
"Of course. Now what's so damn important?"  
  
"Well, you see, I think I've finally made a breakthrough with one of the major passages."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Now, this passage has been extremely difficult to translate, mainly because it makes use of various metaphors that were common only to the--"  
  
"Get to the point," Lilah cut him off harshly.  
  
"Right. Well, we've already established that the scrolls make multiple references to a vampire with a soul, one who will play a pivotal role in the upcoming battles--"  
  
"Angel. We know that already. What else?"  
  
"You see, that's just it. *One* who will play a pivotal role. As in, there is another. Now, I've cross-referenced the phrasing and double-checked it at least half-a-dozen times, and there is no mistake. This particular sentence is explicitly plural--"   
  
"You mean to tell me that some other caped-crusader wanna-be is coming into the picture?" Lilah snarled angrily.  
  
"Well, yes and no," the man shrank back. "You see, the scrolls make references to light coming from darkness and darkness coming from light, and it seems to be applying this to the, well, uh, warriors. Now, if this is indeed the case, then one would naturally assume that the former is the vampire with a soul."  
  
"And the latter?"  
  
The man shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "It's all rather vague. These prophecies make references to another set of scrolls that tell more about this second warrior, but from what's written here, there is reason to hope that he may be what we're looking for."  
  
"Meaning?" Lilah asked, becoming more intrigued.  
  
"You see, the writers of these scrolls held that the universe is inherently dualistic, that there exists an ever-present struggle between Good and Evil."  
  
"So what else is new?"  
  
"Well, they also believed that there must exist a balance in all things. Now, we've tried unsuccessfully to change Angel's...loyalties, but he's always--"  
  
"I know this story. What are you getting at?"  
  
"This: if Angel is coming down on one side of the scale, in order to maintain this balance, this second warrior must come down on the other. On our side."  
  
"Wait a minute," Lilah spoke, running the many implications of this new revelation through her mind, "You're saying that so long as Angel is running around bringing about light and hope, this second warrior will be the source of darkness and destruction?"  
  
"Precisely," the man concluded.  
  
"Oh, this is too good," Lilah chuckled. "And it's exactly the type of news that the senior partners have been waiting for."  
  
END PART TWO 


	3. Part Three

PART THREE  
  
"So that's the whole tale," Willow concluded, having just finished telling Angel all about the events of the past couple of months, starting with Buffy's resurrection and ending with her nearly getting Dawn killed. Of course, she did leave out a few parts, namely having pulled Buffy out of Heaven, but she just wasn't quite ready to let *that* cat out of the bag.  
  
The two of them were seated on the street curb, side-by-side, Willow gazing out at the houses lined in front of them, and Angel mostly watching Willow as she spoke. When Angel didn't respond, Willow turned to look at him. "Well, aren't you going to say anything?" she inquired.  
  
"What do you expect me to say?" Angel shrugged his shoulders, "that I'm upset, or angry, or disappointed? Because I'm not."  
  
Willow sighed as she heard Angel's words. "It's just... I've botched up so many times with magick, but it was always stuff I could fix, you know? Stuff that didn't really cause any *serious* harm to anyone, stuff that was still plenty far from that line that you're not supposed to cross.   
  
"But this, this was so much more serious, so far over the line... You'd think they could at least label that line a bit more clearly: put up a bunch of signs or something, 'warning, this is the line you're not supposed to cross; yes, *the* line. Turn back now.' And you do know that last part was a joke, right?" Willow finished hastily.  
  
"Yeah, I got that," Angel gave her a reassuring smile.  
  
"Good, 'cause I wouldn't want you thinking that I actually thought that... uh, nevermind," Willow looked away with a slightly puzzled look on her face.  
  
Angel's smile spread at the brief reappearance of the Willow he remembered. While he realized that she was no longer the girl he knew from over two years ago, a part of him was saddened to see that the Hellmouth had finally taken its toll on her.  
  
"Willow," he began, calling her attention back to him, "do you remember what you said to me when you came to L.A?"  
  
"Vaguely. I spent the first week after Buffy died in a complete daze. I don't really remember much of anything, except the pain."  
  
"Yeah, I felt that way, too," Angel nodded, "so I went to this spiritual retreat in Sri Lanka to try to find a way to cope with the pain."  
  
"Did it help?"  
  
"For a while, before some of the monks turned into demons."  
  
Willow gave him a strange look, as if to say, 'Even on the other side of the planet.'  
  
"Yeah," Angel chuckled. "But the point is, while I was there, your words came back to me. They played over and over in my head, and I remembered you sitting there, trying so hard to deal with your own grief, yet still doing your best to console me. It didn't work right then, but eventually, the first bit of solace I did find was in your words."  
  
"Oh, I hate to break it to you," Willow gently mocked him, "but those words were intended to console myself more than you. Only it didn't work so well in my case; I mean, I found that I couldn't deal with losing Buffy, so I turned to magick and brought her back."  
  
Angel groaned, "Will you stop sabotaging my efforts to comfort you?"  
  
Willow shot him a disbelieving look. "That's your idea of comfort?"  
  
"Well, if you'd let me finish," Angel's eyes narrowed slightly.  
  
"Sorry," Willow gestured for Angel to continue.  
  
"I was going to say that you helped me through a dark time, and now I'd like to return the favor. You're not a bad person, Willow, you just made some wrong choices. But we've all done that, sometimes with even worse consequences. I know that this is hard on you right now, and, if you'll let me, I'd like to help you."  
  
"I don't think you can help me, Angel," Willow shook her head. "I mean, I've decided to give up magick, and I know it'll be hard, but it's something I have to deal with on my own."  
  
Angel studied the young woman for a few moments, having caught the tinge of sadness in her voice. "But you don't want to give up your magick?"  
  
Willow's gaze suddenly swung to his, frantic. "How can you ask me that?" she exclaimed. "I mean, after what happened, I have to..."  
  
"That's not what I'm asking," Angel shook his head, his voice stern, "I asked if you *wanted* to give up your magick."  
  
A slight pause. "Yes."  
  
Angel gave Willow a sad smile, "You betray yourself."  
  
"Look, I answered your question," Willow snapped, getting to her feet. "Just leave it at that."  
  
"No, I won't," Angel stood as well and turned Willow to face him, "If you don't want to give up your magick, if it's hurting you this much...you can't atone for anything by making yourself suffer."  
  
"Isn't that what you're doing?"  
  
Angel's jaw snapped shut audibly as her words, spoken so calmly, struck him like a blow across the face. Despite everything that they had been through together in Sunnydale, she didn't know him anymore. She had never gotten the chance to know who he had become in Los Angeles. When had he become so estranged from the people who had made up such a large part of his life? Or is it that he had changed so much?  
  
"I'm sorry, Angel," Willow sighed, her demeanor softening. "I didn't mean to...it's just that...I feel like magick is a part of who I am now, but I can't control it," she unconsciously began to reiterate her conversation with Buffy from the previous night, "it's hurting the people that I love, pushing them away from me..." Looking back up at Angel, she continued, "I can't lose them, Angel. They're the only things I have in this world."  
  
Angel reached out and took Willow's hand in his own. "You have me, and I'm still here."  
  
"No," Willow shook her head sadly, "your place is in L.A. now, not here."  
  
Angel knew that what she said was true, but that didn't mean that he could just abandon her. She didn't know the man he had become, but she could get to know him. "My place is with the people I care about. It's true that I don't have a place in Sunnydale, but I hope that I'll always have a place in your life."  
  
"You do, but I can't use my magick again, I won't."  
  
"Okay," Angel held his hands up in surrender. "I can respect that. If you have the resolve to turn your back on that part of yourself, I won't interfere. But I still don't understand what message the Powers were trying to give Cordy."  
  
Willow shrugged her shoulders helplessly, "I've told you everything there is to know."  
  
"Why don't you come back to L.A. with me?" Angel asked, "we can figure this out there, and in the meantime, you can take a break from everything that's happened here."  
  
"You want me to leave here...just like that?"  
  
"Why not? I think a change of scenery would do you some good. Plus, I'd like the chance to spend some time with you."  
  
"Really?" Willow raised an eyebrow, her mood lightening a bit.  
  
"Really. It just hit me how much I've distanced myself from everyone here. I don't want there to be such a large rift between us."  
  
"Me, neither," Willow smiled at him. "Okay, I'll come to L.A. for a while. We can catch up...and, figure out why Cordelia's having those visions, of course."  
  
"Now you're seeing things my way. Why don't we head back to Buffy's and you can pack some stuff--"  
  
"--Wait, I can't!" Willow suddenly exclaimed, "Tara. I was on my way to see her, to explain to her. I have to try and make things better." Willow began walking again, hurrying to get to Tara's new place.  
  
"Willow, wait!" Angel rushed to catch up with her, easily matching her strides. "You're still coming to L.A., right?"   
  
"I'm not sure," Willow stopped suddenly and turned to face him, "It would be nice, but...I need to get my life back together. I can't just duck and run now that things have gotten rough."  
  
"But Willow--"  
  
"I know! I know what you're going to say. You're going to remind me about Cordelia's visions and tell me that I'm in danger. I know that. But I love Tara. I can't just leave things like this. I can't. Please just let me talk with her first. Please."  
  
"All right," Angel conceded, recognizing that this was something she needed, "just let me come with you?"  
  
"I think it would be a little odd with you there, don't you think?"  
  
"I'll wait outside," Angel gave her a warm smile.  
  
"Okay, but I'm not making any promises."  
  
"Too bad," Angel shrugged, "because I am."  
  
***  
  
"Willow," Tara exclaimed, slightly surprised as she opened the door to reveal the redhead, "what are you doing here?"  
  
"Uh, can I come in?" Willow attempted to reign in her nervousness.  
  
"Oh, sure," Tara opened the door wider and stepped aside to let Willow in. "Sorry about the mess. I'm still unpacking."  
  
"It's alright. You know, you still have a few things left at the house. I can bring them by later, if you'd like."  
  
"That's okay, I'll just ask Dawn to get them."  
  
Willow froze at the mention of Dawn. "Have you spoken with Dawn?"  
  
"She stopped by earlier today. She told me everything."  
  
"Oh," Willow whispered, looking down.  
  
"Is that why you're here?" Tara asked gently.  
  
"I wanted to tell you myself...and I just needed to see you."  
  
Tara considered her words before she spoke. Looking at Willow, her heart ached to comfort her, but she knew that she couldn't do it. She had warned her love of what could happen if she continued on her path, but it hadn't been enough. And so Willow had learned the hard way. And yet, after everything that happened, Tara knew that it wasn't over. It could never be over that quickly, not after having tasted magick so powerful.  
  
"I d-don't think that it would be s-such a good idea for us to s-see each other that much r-right now."  
  
Willow felt like all the breath had been knocked out of her. "Tara...what are you saying?"  
  
"I'm s-saying that you need to work th-through this without me."  
  
"You hate me, don't you?" Willow whispered, taking a step back as tears sprang to her eyes.  
  
"No! I could never hate you--"  
  
"I'm going to Los Angeles," Willow cut her off, trying desperately to keep her emotions in check.  
  
"What?" Tara gave her a startled look.  
  
"Just for a little while...um, Angel called today...he needs some help with a computer thing."  
  
"I see. Well, you should g-go."  
  
"You wouldn't mind?" Willow prodded, part of her hoping that Tara would beg her not to go.  
  
"N-no. I think the ch-change would be good."  
  
"Oh. Well, I'd be leaving tonight, after I speak with Buffy..."  
  
"Okay," Tara turned her back to Willow and began to walk towards a stack of boxes. "Let me know w-when you get back."  
  
Willow stood rooted to the ground as she stared at Tara's retreating form. How had she let things go this far? How could she have destroyed the most precious thing in the world to her?  
  
"Sure," Willow finally managed to choke out, her heart constricting painfully. "I guess I'll go now..."  
  
When Tara didn't respond, Willow turned and reached for the door, sobbing silently as she let herself out. Tara heard the door swing shut after Willow left and sank to the ground, letting her own tears fall.  
  
***  
  
"Willow..." Angel trailed off as he spotted the sobbing redhead approaching him.  
  
She shook her head, simply asking, "How soon can we leave?"  
  
END PART THREE 


	4. Part Four

PART FOUR  
  
"Well, what have you come up with?" Lilah asked, entering her office and taking a seat at her desk. She was speaking to the man seated comfortably in the chair across from her, staring at her with steely, uncaring eyes.  
  
"This," he casually tossed a file on the desk and lapsed back into silence.  
  
Lilah eyed him warily as she reached for the file. Opening it, she spent a few moments flipping through the pages inside, then cursed suddenly as she read a name she had hoped would not be involved in this in any way.   
  
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.  
  
"Are you sure this information is correct?" she snapped suddenly. The man, un-phased, simply raised an indifferent eyebrow at the brunette. "Would you be paying me if you expected it not to be?"  
  
Lilah was silent as she considered her next move. This was a most unfortunate turn of events. If the scrolls she was looking for were in Angel's possession, then there was a distinct possibility that he would already be aware of the existence of this second warrior. And even if he wasn't, there was still no way she would be able to gather more information for herself without tipping her hand to her enemies.   
  
Either way, she was screwed. If she let this whole topic drop, someone else would eventually pick it up, and the Senior Partners would have her killed for having possessed such potent information and not following up on it. If she pursued this and ended up tipping Angel off about the contents of the scrolls--which was inevitable--the Seniors Partners would have her killed for incompetence.  
  
Making her decision, Lilah turned her gaze back to the man seated before her. Kiren. Only the Senior Partners knew his full name, and even then, it wasn't certain if that was his real name. He was the person in charge of several of Wolfram & Hart's...trickier operations. And he never failed. That was part of the reason Lilah had requested his assistance with this particular operation. This time, she couldn't afford to fail.  
  
"I assume you're familiar with the subject our division has been focusing on this past year," she began. "He's strong, intelligent enough to have thwarted the majority of our--"  
  
"If you have an assignment for me, get to it already," Kiren cut her off, his face a mask of boredom, but his voice laced with slight irritation.  
  
Lilah's jaw clenched ever so slightly, in equal parts anger and fear. "Of course," she gave him her most charming smile. "Since you are the one that retrieved this information," she indicated the file in her hands, "then you already know that the scrolls I'm looking for are in this subject's possession. I want them."  
  
"How soon?"  
  
"Yesterday."  
  
Kiren nodded his head ever so slightly, not once breaking eye contact, and stood. He had his orders, and that was all he needed.  
  
Lilah let out a sigh of relief when he left her office, her mind only briefly dwelling on the fact that she had no idea how to handle this man. But it didn't matter. Soon, she would learn the identity of the new player, and all her plans would fall into place.  
  
***  
  
"So, when do you think Angel'll get back?" Gunn asked, leaning casually against the desk Cordelia was seated at.  
  
"Who knows?" Cordelia shrugged, "we have no idea what's been going on in Sunnydale recently; Angel could be walking into anything."  
  
"You don't think there'd be trouble, do ya?" Fred asked.  
  
"In Sunnydale?" Cordelia scoffed, "there's always trouble."  
  
"Oh. Well, I just meant that, I hope Angel doesn't get hurt or anything. From what you've said about his past there, well, I...I'm worrying for no reason, aren't I?"  
  
Gunn snorted slightly, "I think Angel can handle himself just fine."  
  
"Well, whatever happens in Sunnydale, I just hope Angel is able to find out what's going on," Wesley chimed in, "I for one find myself quite intrigued by what Cordelia's visions may indicate."  
  
"You so need to get laid," Gunn shook his head at the ex-Watcher in disbelief.  
  
Wesley's irritated stammering was cut short by a sudden loud crash that startled the group gathered in the lobby of the Hyperion.  
  
"What was that?" Fred asked nervously.  
  
"Sounded like it was coming from the storage room," Gunn mused.  
  
Wesley and Cordelia exchanged a sudden panicked look as they seemed to simultaneously remember what, exactly, was kept in the storage room.  
  
Running to the weapons cabinet, Wesley quickly retrieved the first objects that came into his hands -- two swords, an axe, and a mace -- and handed them off to his friends. The sounds of someone ransacking their way through the storage room continued to reach their ears as the group ran quickly, prepared for battle.  
  
Gunn was the first to reach the door. Banging it open, he cursed at the sight before him. There were at least five intruders, dressed in commando suits and black ski masks, and they were apparently human. Gunn grumbled as he noted the guns they toted -- some stun, some real -- as well as his own mace. It wasn't like he could bash their heads in, but...  
  
"Gunn, move!" Wesley yelled, charging in and shoving Gunn aside as a commando charged at him, taking Wesley down instead. Wesley grunted as he felt the searing pain caused by the stun gun spread through his body. He turned his head to the side and spotted his fallen sword just a few feet away. If he could just reach it...  
  
"Wes!" Gunn regained his balance and saw his comrade convulsing under the electric charges inflicted onto him. Gripping his mace, Gunn moved to help Wesley, but noticed a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw another attacker coming towards him. Gunn quickly dodged the advance and raised his mace, brining the handle of it down to strike the man across the back of the head.  
  
Cordelia and Fred appeared in the doorway at that moment, taking in the scene. Wesley and Gunn were struggling with two of the men, while two others were advancing upon them.  
  
Fred ran to the side and used the side of the axe to strike Wesley's attacker across the back of the head, rendering him immobile for a few moments. Seeing Wesley struggling to regain control of his limbs, Fred rushed to his side and helped him to his feet. Wesley gave her a quick thankful glance before staggering away and grabbing his sword, using it to swing at the new oncoming attacker.  
  
Cordelia, meanwhile, rushed forward with her sword, intent on stopping the man that was pillaging through the contents of the shelves and tables that were lined against the far wall.  
  
"Cordy, behind you!" Gunn yelled, but his warning came too late as another commando approached Cordelia from behind and zapped her with his stun ray. Cordelia sank to her knees with a cry as the numbing pain shot through her.   
  
Gunn turned back to his opponent and elbowed him in the nose, followed by a sidekick to the gut, which sent him sprawling backwards onto the floor. Grabbing his mace off the floor, Gunn ran towards Cordelia's assailant, intent on knocking the weapon from his hands, when a loud shot rang through the room, followed by an agonized scream.  
  
Both Gunn and Cordelia immediately turned their heads to where Wesley and Fred were standing and noted that the two of them were unharmed. Then they saw the blood.  
  
One of the commandos that the pair was struggling with was lying face down on the floor, a pool of blood forming around his body. It proved to be enough of a distraction.  
  
Wesley finally tore his gaze away from the dying man to see the other commandos escaping -- one of them with a particular set of scrolls in his hands.  
  
"The Aiterion Scrolls!" Wesley gasped as he realized what they had been searching for. Grabbing his sword, he rushed forward, intent on stopping them from getting away. Gunn ran to help his friend, noticing too late the weapon aimed at him.  
  
"Shit!" he cursed as he dove to the side, but not before a bullet passed completely through his shoulder. Wesley continued to speed forward, attempting to tackle the man with the scroll, but he evaded, and Wesley found himself about to crash into the table before him. Striking out with his sword, he heard the unmistakable rip of parchment as he landed hard against the wood, the side of his head banging against the floor.  
  
Grunting as he pushed himself to his knees, Gunn saw the last of the intruders escaping. His gaze wandered over to where Fred was assisting Cordelia to her feet, then moved to Wesley, who was also struggling to sit upright.  
  
"What the hell just happened?" Cordelia muttered as she continued to lean slightly against Fred for support.  
  
"Apparently they were here for the Aiterion Scrolls," Wesley murmured as he gathered the few scattered pieces of the scroll that his sword had cut apart.  
  
"The what?" Gunn asked, his hand clutched over his shoulder in an attempt to stop the bleeding.  
  
"A set of scrolls that I purchased from a--" Wesley cut himself off as he noted Gunn's bleeding shoulder. "You've been shot."  
  
"Yeah, well, at least I ain't dead, which is more than I can say for that fool over there."  
  
Four pairs of eyes turned to the dead body of the commando.  
  
"Oh, god," Fred breathed as she gazed at the body, "they killed him."  
  
"Who killed who?" a new voice asked from the doorway.  
  
"Angel!" Fred exclaimed as she turned to see him entering the room with a pretty redhead at his side.  
  
"Oh my god," Angel exclaimed as he took in the sight before him. "Is everyone alright?"  
  
Wesley, Gunn, Cordelia, and Fred all exchanged glances as they wondered how they were going to explain this to the vampire.  
  
***  
  
"What the hell do you mean you didn't get the entire scroll?!" Lilah snarled as she stared Kiren down.  
  
"We were interrupted," Kiren's jaw was clenched tightly in anger, though his expression was as blank as ever.  
  
"Obviously," Lilah hissed. "How could you let this happen?"  
  
"Apparently one of the men assigned to my team was never trained in the stealthier aspects of breaking and entering."  
  
"Well that's just great. Even when I go outside of the division, all I get is a bunch of incompetents."  
  
"The matter has been dealt with," Kiren stated coolly.  
  
Lilah turned an inquiring eye on the man, then realized exactly what he meant. "I see. Can he be traced back to us?"  
  
"As I understand the situation, the vampire traces everything back to you."  
  
Lilah sighed as she realized he was right. It was only a matter of time before Angel came barging into her office, or home, or car, or wherever the hell else he felt like cornering her, to start threatening her to return the scrolls. And before that happened, she fully intended to decipher as much as possible of the scrolls currently in her possession.  
  
END PART FOUR 


	5. Part Five

PART FIVE  
  
"You know, you really should get yourself checked out by a professional," Cordelia pointed out as she finished bandaging Gunn's shoulder. "I mean, cuts, bruises, scratches -- these are things I can deal with. Bullet wounds? That's a little out of my league."  
  
"You seem to be doing just fine," Gunn replied as he slowly flexed out his arm. "Besides, the bullet went clean through."  
  
"Yeah, but it could still get infected, which always leads to the possibility of amputation..."  
  
"I think I'll be checking myself into a hospital," Gunn stood, nodding his head.  
  
"Works every time," Cordelia smiled to herself.  
  
"Wesley, how are those translations coming along?" Angel reappeared in the room and walked over to Wesley, who was frantically working at translating what he could of the pieces of the scroll that were left behind.  
  
"I'm not really sure..." Wesley trailed off as he turned his attention to yet another old reference book, apparently searching for something.  
  
"We're still working on it," Fred supplied, seeing that Wesley had quickly become engrossed in whatever passage he was reading.  
  
"Where's Willow?" Cordelia asked, coming to stand next to Angel.  
  
"I just showed her to her room; she's unpacking a few things. She'll be right down."  
  
"Did you find anything out?" Gunn joined the conversation.  
  
Angel considered his words for a moment. He was still unsure how, or even if, Willow's recent experiences with magick abuse had any relation to Cordelia's visions, and he felt a bit awkward discussing the matter without her consent.  
  
"Not really. Things in Sunnydale have been a bit rough recently, but I don't really think there's any direct connection to the visions."  
  
"So then what do we do now?" Cordelia asked softly, worried for the redhead. Since Willow was the only person she had really kept in contact with in Sunnydale over the past couple of years, she found herself even more driven to help get to the bottom of things.  
  
Willow watched from the top of the staircase as Angel and his friends engaged in a discussion about something. Most likely her. She couldn't help but note how at ease Angel seemed around everybody. He really had built something special here...  
  
Sighing, Willow shook her head as she finally descended the steps. "Hey," she greeted a bit nervously. For the first time in a long time, she felt like an outsider.  
  
"All settled in?" Angel asked.  
  
"Yeah. This place is, well, wow," Willow waved her hands around, trying to express the grandeur of the building. "So, what's...going on?"  
  
"Well, Wesley and Fred are working on those scrolls, trying to get some clue as to what information they hold--"  
  
"--to try and find out why someone would want to steal them," Willow finished, nodding in understanding.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Well, do you have any idea who would want to steal the scrolls?" Willow questioned, trying to find some way to help. If she could find some way to be useful, maybe she wouldn't feel so out of place.  
  
"Oh we know *exactly* who was behind this," Cordelia replied. She exchanged glances with Angel and Gunn, who seemed to agree with her.  
  
"I don't see why we can't just corner that lawyer chic and take the scrolls back," Gunn offered, "she's gotta be the one who set this up."  
  
"You're probably right," Angel nodded, "I'd just like to know what they're up to first."  
  
"Well, only the scrolls are going to tell us that," Cordelia said.  
  
"The scrolls..." Angel mused, "how, exactly, did they know where the scrolls were being kept?"  
  
Both Wesley and Fred looked up at this statement, which seemed to have the entire group pondering.  
  
"You know, I never considered that," Wesley stated.   
  
"Well, it ain't like anyone from Wolfram and Hart was ever given an all access tour of the building," Gunn offered.  
  
"No one that we know of," Wesley's face lit with realization.  
  
"How else would they know exactly where to look?" Angel's expression indicated that he had come to the same conclusion as Wesley.  
  
"So, what? You're saying someone snuck in here and mapped out the entire hotel?" Cordelia questioned. "That seems a bit time consuming if you ask me."  
  
"Well, there were those few days where everyone was trapped in Pylea," Fred reminded them.  
  
"Damn!" Gunn summed up the thoughts going through everyone's head.  
  
"Well, there isn't anything that we can do about that situation right now," Wesley quickly took charge. "I think the thing for us to concentrate on at the moment is getting back the scrolls that were stolen."  
  
"I'll get them back," Angel promised menacingly.  
  
"Good. In the meantime, Fred and I will work on deciphering what we can here. Gunn, I think Cordelia was right. You should get your shoulder checked out. And Cordelia..." he trailed off as she saw Cordelia and Willow standing together. "There is still the issue of your vision."  
  
"Willow and I are on it," Cordelia replied cheerily, draping an arm over Willow's shoulders.  
  
Willow stiffened slightly at the contact, not used to being so friendly, at least in person, with the ex-cheerleader. Her mind was spinning with all the unfamiliar information that she had just been bombarded with. Lawyers? Wolfram and Hart? Pylea?  
  
Her musings were cut short as Gunn announced that he was off to go see a doctor. Once he had left, Willow turned her attention to Cordelia, giving her a questioning look, as if asking what she was supposed to do now.  
  
Cordelia, in turn, looked at Angel. Understanding the look, Angel shrugged as he spoke, "There really isn't much that we can do right now on that front."  
  
"Well, I could help Wesley with the translations," Willow offered. "Research is at least *something* I know I can get right, and it seems more important at the moment."  
  
"And I guess I'll go assess the damage to the storage room," Cordelia sighed resolutely, obviously getting tired of always having to clean up after the hotel was trashed.  
  
Willow smiled slightly as she watched Cordelia stomp off. Looking up, she saw Angel gazing at her intently.  
  
"What?" she asked, a bit unnerved.  
  
"Nothing," Angel just shook his head.  
  
Willow considered pressing the issue, but decided against it. A moment of silence lapsed before Willow finally spoke, "You're really happy here, huh? Well, obviously not like 'true happiness' happy, but, well, you guys are just so...like a family."  
  
"We are a family."  
  
"That's nice, that you have that here. Everything in Sunnydale has been really strained recently, you know? It feels like everyone's been drifting apart."  
  
"I can imagine," Angel nodded.  
  
"It feels a bit odd, being here."  
  
Angel paused for a moment, studying Willow, before softly reminding her, "You know you never have to feel out of place with me."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," Willow smiled at him. A thoughtful look crossed her face as she suddenly asked, "Um, Angel? Who are Wolfram and Hart?"  
  
Angel simply groaned at the question.  
  
***  
  
"Well?" Lilah huffed impatiently, towering over a quivering man who was practically steeped in scrolls, papers, and books.  
  
Eugene Peters, Wolfram & Hart's Ancient Texts Translator, gulped audibly as he looked the fearsome woman in the eyes. "Um, you see, the thing is, the passages are worded in a very tricky manner--"  
  
"I don't give a damn how tricky it is; you're paid to clear it up! Now I want you to give me something I can use in the next hour, or I'll have you eviscerated."  
  
When put that way, "Well, there is one section that I've been particularly concentrating on, but I have to warn you that this is more of an interpretation that a strict translation."  
  
"What does it say?"  
  
"Essentially, it would be something along the lines of 'The Mouth of Hell shall lie in flames, and the Gate of Heaven will heed her call.' Though I can't be sure of the actual expression--"  
  
"Did you just say 'her'?" Lilah asked, latching onto the only part of the statement that made any sense to her at the moment.  
  
"Yes. The word here is in its feminine form, so it would be safe to assume that this warrior is female."  
  
"Well, that narrows the search down," Lilah mused, "but what does the rest of it mean?"  
  
"Some sort of fire, perhaps?" Eugene shrugged.  
  
Lilah didn't respond as she reread the notes Eugene had written down so far. After a few minutes, she spoke again. "I need something more to work with here. Have you got anything else?"  
  
"Not yet."  
  
Too lost in her thoughts to make a scathing retort, Lilah merely nodded as she turned to leave his office. "When you have something more, let me know."  
  
***  
  
Wesley exhaled as he leaned back in his chair to escape from his task for a moment. The pieces of the Aiterion Scrolls that had been left behind were mostly fragments of larger passages, and most of those fragments seemed to have no connection to any of the present events. Sure, he had skimmed over some writings about a few more apocalypses scheduled to occur in the next century or so, but he doubted that that was the information Wolfram & Hart was so eager to obtain.  
  
Moving on to the next set of text, Wesley froze as he recognized the first line. 'The Souled One.' Finally, he was getting somewhere!  
  
With renewed vigor, Wesley skimmed over the writings, jotting down what he recognized and looking up what he didn't. After some minutes, he looked down at his rather broken translation. 'The Two shall meet... balance shall be restored... Darkness and Light upon the battlefield... the Paths of the Warriors determined...'  
  
"Oh my," Wesley breathed aloud.  
  
"Wesley?" Fred asked, still seated beside him, "did you find something?"  
  
Her question caught the attention of the others in the room, as they gathered to hear Wesley reply, "Yes, I think I have."  
  
END PART FIVE 


	6. Part Six

PART SIX  
  
The employees of Angel Investigations sat in silence as they waited for Wesley to finish reviewing the Prophecies of Aberjian. After Wesley had announced his findings in the Aiterion Scrolls, it had suddenly struck him that he had read something similar before -- in the Prophecies of Aberjian -- over a year ago, when he had been trying to translate the passage on Angel and his eventual 'shanshu'.  
  
"Here it is," Wesley finally announced, pointing to a section of the Prophecies that he had spent some time trying to translate the year before. "I had marked this passage before as one that I would need to look further into--the language and references used here are very archaic--but then I came across the references to Angel, and this sort of slipped my mind. I hadn't been able to translate much of it then, but what I did get was a reference to the Aiterion Scrolls, which was the reason I purchased them in the first place."  
  
"And?" Gunn prompted.  
  
"Well, the only thing I could get out of it at the time was a vague reference to what could be a second Warrior."  
  
"A what?" Angel exclaimed.  
  
"I know I should have mentioned something like this sooner, especially if this person is to have the same type of impact on events that you're destined to have, but the Prophecies of Aberjian don't go into much detail about this person. They simply make a vague reference to him, then mention the Aiterion Scrolls. I had wanted to get a bit more information before jumping to any conclusions, but with everything that's happened this past year..."  
  
"No one's blaming you, Wes," Angel quickly interjected, "it's just, if Wolfram & Hart also have this information..."  
  
"There's no telling what kind of havoc they could wreak," Cordelia understood Angel's unspoken thoughts.  
  
"But how would this apply to what you just read from the Aiterion Scrolls?" Willow directed her question to Wesley.  
  
Wesley exhaled as he looked back down at his translation. "Darkness and Light..." he murmured softly. "I can't be sure," he looked up to meet Angel's gaze, "it would seem to imply that the Warriors will be on opposing sides, but-"  
  
"But you'd need the rest of the scroll to find out more," Angel finished for him. Wesley nodded.  
  
"Well, the sun's down," Fred remarked.  
  
"Yeah, I know. And I think it's high time I paid Lilah another visit."  
  
***  
  
"You know, I wondered how long it would be before you came barging through those doors," Lilah greeted Angel smugly as he entered her office, "but to be honest, I expected you to come charging in as soon as the sun set. Mind if I ask why the delay?"  
  
"Actually, I do," Angel growled, stalking towards her desk. "And I'd prefer we cut right down to the chase. I want the scrolls back."  
  
"Scrolls?" Lilah asked, feigning innocence.  
  
"Don't mess with me, Lilah, not today."  
  
"Well, aren't we in a bad mood? But then again, that's not really anything new, now is it?" At Angel's glare, Lilah snickered. "I'd like to help you, Angel, I really would, but you're going to have to be a bit more specific. I happen to have a lot of scrolls in my possession. Which set in particular are you looking for?"  
  
"The ones you stole from my office today," Angel's words were clipped, "you know, when you left the dead body behind?"  
  
"You know Angel, if you're going to insist on tossing around these baseless accusations--" Lilah was cut off as Angel picked up one of the chairs by her desk and hurled it across the room.  
  
"I'm really not in the mood for your games tonight," Angel snarled.  
  
"That was a very expensive piece of furniture you just destroyed," Lilah retorted.  
  
"And I'll start in on those show-pieces over there if you don't hand over the Aiterion Scrolls."  
  
"Is that what you're after?" Lilah's laughter was strained, "you should have just said so in the first place." Retrieving the scrolls from her desk drawer--where she had placed them just minutes before sunset--she waved them before Angel. "These?"  
  
Lilah let out a gasp as Angel reached over and swiftly snatched the scrolls from her hand, not even giving her time to register his movement. Another moment passed, and Lilah was once more left alone in her office.  
  
"You're welcome," she muttered to the absent vampire.  
  
***  
  
"Sunnydale?" Lilah raised a dubious eyebrow as she listened to Eugene's latest ramblings.  
  
"Yes, yes, I'm quite certain that's what these scrolls are referring to," Eugene nodded his head emphatically, obviously quite pleased with himself for deciphering his latest puzzle.  
  
"And how did you come to this brilliant conclusion?"  
  
"You remember the section I was able to translate earlier? Well, it makes a reference to the 'Mouth of Hell'. Now, the word that I've interpreted here as 'mouth' has strong similarities to this word here," Eugene pointed to the characters written on the scrolls, "which translates to 'gate' or 'entrance.' So it would be practical to assume that in this context, 'mouth' would also refer to some type of gateway or entrance."  
  
"So the 'Mouth of Hell' would be like an entrance to Hell?"  
  
"Mouth, entrance, portal, whatever you wish to call it."  
  
Lilah's face lit with realization, "And Sunnydale sits on top of a portal to Hell."  
  
"Precisely."  
  
"Why, Eugene, I do believe you've outdone yourself this time," Lilah smiled as she patted the man on the back.  
  
Eugene blushed slightly at the compliment. "Well, there is one more theory that I've been working on."  
  
"Enlighten me."  
  
"The second half of that section, which I've translated as 'the Gate of Heaven will heed her call', also uses some rather tricky characters. It turns out that 'call' was a slightly inaccurate translation. I've cross-referenced that character with some others, and it seems to indicate something along the lines of 'summon'."  
  
"Summon? In relation to Heaven? You mean like a spell-caster summoning a god?"  
  
"Well, I'm not sure what was summoned, but if something *was* indeed summoned, then that would imply--"  
  
"A witch!" Lilah exclaimed, cutting him off. "Oh, this is great! Eugene, you are a genius, and I am going to make sure that you are well-rewarded for this."  
  
"But as I've said, this is just a theory--"  
  
"A theory that makes sense. You told me earlier that the Prophecies of Aberjian say the Warriors are going to balance each other, right?"  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"Well, who better to balance someone with superhuman physical powers than someone with superhuman magickal ones?"  
  
"I suppose."  
  
"And if we're right about this, then all I need to do is get some psychic readers to hone in on Sunnydale and locate the most powerful witch in the vicinity."  
  
"Witch?" a new voice asked from the doorway.  
  
Lilah whirled around to face a rather pleased-looking Gavin Park. "What the hell do you want?" she scowled.  
  
"Well actually, I've been looking for you," Gavin smiled, stepping into the room. "Apparently we have some things to discuss. What's this about witches?"  
  
"None of your business."  
  
"Is that so? Eugene?" Gavin directed his piercing gaze at the ancient texts translator.  
  
Eugene gulped. It was bad enough having to deal with one of them at a time, but the two of them *together* was just terrifying. "Uh..." he trailed off as Lilah shot him a death glare. Why did these things always have to happen to him?  
  
Fortunately, he was temporarily saved as Lilah cut in, "Why don't you just go back to issuing your little building code violations, and leave the real work to the professionals."  
  
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Gavin's attention returned to the woman. "Either you tell me what's going on, or I report today's little incident to the Senior Partners."  
  
"How did you find out about that?" Lilah's eyes narrowed in suspicion.  
  
"I have my ways."  
  
"Spill it."  
  
"I tell you what. I'll share my little secret if you share yours."  
  
"All right then. You first."  
  
Gavin smiled as he led her out of the room.  
  
***  
  
"Tell me, Lilah, do you understand now the full scope of what I've been doing these past few months?" Gavin asked snidely as Lilah gazed at all of the machines set up in the room.  
  
"So you bugged the damn building," Lilah sneered, "you expect a medal?"  
  
Gavin chose to ignore her comment and continued, "And imagine my surprise when I read this little transcription." He handed her a stack of papers.  
  
"'Angel: Wesley and Fred are working on those scrolls, trying to get some clue as to what information they hold; Unknown Female: to try and find out why someone would want to steal them'," Lilah read the lines that Gavin had pointed to. "So that's how you found out."  
  
"Yes," Gavin nodded, "though you really should read the rest of that. It was really quite amusing hearing them almost catch onto our little operation here, then completely miss the bulls-eye."  
  
Lilah snorted as she quickly skimmed over the rest of the transcription.  
  
"So," Gavin continued, "now that you know about my operation, let's hear about yours."  
  
"Do you have any information on this new 'unknown female'?" Lilah asked instead, setting the papers down.  
  
"Actually, no. A lot of the conversation was too blurred to transcribe. But let's try to stay on topic, shall we?"  
  
Lilah paused for a moment before replying, "All right. You want to know about my operation? I'm headed to Sunnydale."  
  
END PART SIX 


	7. Part Seven

Review Responses:  
  
Anon: Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you're enjoying this so far. Hope these next two chapters haven't disappointed.  
  
PART SEVEN  
  
Willow exhaled as she leaned back in her chair to rub her tired eyes. Angel had returned several hours ago with the Aiterion Scrolls, and everyone had quickly set to work on deciphering the prophecies.  
  
"Okay, there is not a single part of this that makes sense," Cordelia proclaimed from her seat next to Willow, "you wanna switch?"  
  
Willow smiled as she acknowledged Cordelia's question, memories of late-night Sunnydale 'research parties' surfacing in her mind, and she realized that no matter how different things were for Angel and Cordelia in Los Angeles, there were still some things that hadn't changed.  
  
It was very reassuring.  
  
"Sure." The two exchanged their sections of the scroll, and Willow gaped as she read what Cordelia had translated so far. 'Fire.'  
  
"That's all you've got?!" she exclaimed.  
  
"And what part of 'there's not a single part of this that makes sense' did you not understand?" Cordelia replied.  
  
Angel chuckled to himself as he listened in on the girls' verbal exchange. Though he doubted either of them would readily admit it, they seemed to be enjoying each other's company.  
  
"And just what are *you* smirking at?" Angel, unaware that his amusement had been outwardly displayed, lifted his gaze to see Willow glaring playfully at him.  
  
"Me?" Angel gave her his best innocent look.  
  
"Do you see anyone *else* in this room smirking?"  
  
"Uh..." Angel trailed off as he glanced in turn at his companions, and Willow followed his gaze. Wesley, Gunn, Fred, and Cordelia were all focused on the two of them, amused smiles lighting their faces.  
  
"Ok, never mind then," Willow conceded.  
  
"I'm guessing you guys did this a lot in Sunnydale," Gunn smiled at the redhead.  
  
"You have no idea," Willow grinned back. Although she didn't know Gunn or Fred all that well yet, she was really enjoying getting to know them. For the first time since she had arrived, she was really beginning to feel that she had made the right decision in accepting Angel's offer to come to L.A.  
  
Wesley looked slightly perplexed, "Strange, I don't seem to recall--"  
  
"That's 'cause no one liked you," Cordelia cut in automatically, knowing what he was about to say.  
  
"Well, except for you," Willow teasingly whispered to the brunette.  
  
Gunn scoffed in disbelief, "Wait, you mean no liked *Wes*?"  
  
"Why thank you, Gunn," Wesley's tone was grateful.  
  
"It's just that...you were so different back then," Angel supplied.  
  
Her curiosity peaked, Fred inquired, "Different how?"   
  
"Oh, please, let's not discuss this right now...or ever, for that matter," Wesley pleaded.  
  
"No, I wanna hear this," Gunn also voiced his interest.  
  
"It's nothing big really," Cordelia spoke almost nonchalantly, "he was just one of those snobby, snooty, girly-man wimps."  
  
"Again, coming from the girl who had the biggest crush on him," Willow grinned.  
  
"Cordy and Wes?" Gunn exclaimed, "that is just weird!"  
  
"I don't know," Fred shook her head, "I just can't picture Wesley the way you described him. I mean, he's just so..." she trailed off when she noticed the looks everyone was giving her. Blushing slightly, she finished, "Well, he's just very different now."  
  
Wesley beamed at Fred's words. After finally getting his voice back, he attempted to get the discussion off of him. "As much as I really didn't appreciate this trip down memory lane, can we please get back to the issue of the scrolls?"  
  
"Sure, ruin our fun," Cordelia retorted.  
  
Wesley shot her a glare, but was promptly backed up by Angel. "Wesley's right. We really should get back to work."  
  
"Fine, fine," Gunn sighed in disappointment. He had always been mildly interested in learning more about Sunnydale, considering his friends had such complicated histories rooted there, but no one ever seemed that willing to talk about it.  
  
Still smiling from the group's brief bantering, Willow returned her attention to the task at hand. She sighed as she re-read the meager fruits of Cordelia's labor, then once again focused her mind on research mode. As tiring as it was, it still felt good to be able to concentrate on something other than her own problems.  
  
Quickly losing all track of time, Willow immersed herself in the pile of scrolls and reference texts littered about the table, piecing together the translation bit by bit. However, as the meaning behind the complicated characters began to unravel, Willow felt herself growing inexplicably nervous...  
  
'Gate'. A gate on fire? No, there was more to the phrase than that. Something else... The gate to a dimension, some type of hell dimension... Hell! Was the gate to hell on fire?   
  
Butterflies began to form in the pit of her stomach, even as she continued her work.  
  
Another gate, to another dimension. A peaceful dimension, a heavenly dimension. Heaven. The gate to Heaven.  
  
Willow's heartbeat began to accelerate, yet she continued on.  
  
A summons. The gate to Heaven, responding to a summon.  
  
Willow's previously even breathing steadily transformed into shallow gasps as she stared in horror at the words written before her.   
  
'When the gate to Hell is on fire, the gate of Heaven will obey her summons.'  
  
Oh, Goddess. Sunnydale. Buffy. *Her* summons.  
  
Pushing herself awkwardly to her feet, Willow fought to control her body's sudden violent shaking as she hurriedly made her way out of the room, panic, fear, and sorrow threatening to overwhelm her.   
  
"Willow?" Angel's concerned voice reached her ears, but she couldn't bring herself to respond.  
  
"Willow!" he called out again as she fled from him.  
  
"Is she okay?" Fred's eyes were wide with worry as she watched the trembling girl half-run, half-stagger away from them.  
  
"Willow!" Angel leapt to his feet and chased after her.  
  
Cordelia stood as well, prepared to follow, but was stopped as Wesley placed a firm hand on her arm. "Wesley?" she questioned.  
  
"Let Angel handle this."  
  
Cordelia took one last look at the couple, watching as Angel gently ushered a shaken Willow into Wesley's office and closed the door behind them. She sighed as she sat back down, her eyes still fixed on the office door.  
  
"What do you think just happened?" Gunn asked.  
  
"I don't know," Cordelia's voice was laced with worry. "It was just..."  
  
"Very sudden," Wesley nodded, his eyes mirroring her concern. "I wonder..." he trailed off as he gathered the materials Willow was working on, and began to read.  
  
***  
  
Angel was at a loss for words as sat in a rather awkward cross-legged position on the floor, holding the sobbing redhead in his arms. "Willow?" he gently prompted again as she pulled away from him a few minutes later, wiping away the last of her tears.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Angel," her voice still shook as she spoke.  
  
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Angel turned Willow back around to face him and took her hands in his own, "just please tell me what happened out there."  
  
Willow stared into his eyes for a moment, letting his concern and friendship wash over her. Knowing she'd have to tell him sooner or later, she took a deep breath and tried to explain what she had no idea how to put into words.  
  
"I think I know what Cordelia's visions were about," she began tentatively. "The pieces of the scroll I was working on...it was talking about that other Warrior that Wesley mentioned, and..."  
  
When Willow didn't continue, Angel began to tenderly massage smooth circles over her hands with his thumbs, urging her to continue.  
  
"And he said they'd be on opposite sides, and..."  
  
"And what?"  
  
"I'm not evil, am I?" Willow ended in a whisper.  
  
Angel's brow furrowed in confusion as he heard her question. "Come again?"  
  
"The scrolls, Angel!" Willow exclaimed as she suddenly wrenched her hands away from his. "They mention Sunnydale, a fire in Sunnydale, and this Warrior summoning someone from Heaven. Sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it?" Her tone became almost venomous, and though she instantly regretted sounding that way, she couldn't seem to calm herself down.  
  
"Willow, you must be mistaken--"  
  
"I'm not!" she snapped again, getting to her feet. "When I did the spell to bring Buffy back to life, there were these biker demons that were rampaging around Sunnydale, and they practically set the entire town on fire. Those scrolls were talking about me, when I summoned Buffy out of Heaven."  
  
"You don't know that," Angel, too, got to his feet and attempted to reason with the hysterical woman, "Sunnydale...who knows how many fires have happened in Sunnydale in the last however many years. And do you think that you're the only person who's ever tried to a spell like that? Especially on a place like the Hellmouth?"  
  
"You're reaching, Angel," Willow shook her head sadly, having calmed down slightly. "Don't you think it's odd that Cordelia suddenly gets these strange visions about me, and at the same time you have this problem with some prophecy that talks about some evil Warrior that you're supposed to fight against? This Warrior that happens to be connected to the Hellmouth, that performs a spell to pull someone out of Heaven? Don't you see? Her visions were *warning* you about *me*!"  
  
"No, Willow, you're wrong," Angel said firmly. "You're not evil. You never have been, and you never could be. Those scrolls are not talking about you. Cordelia's visions are not warning me about you."  
  
"Then how do you explain this?"  
  
"I can't," Angel shrugged slightly, "at least not yet. But we will figure this out, and you will see that this has nothing to do with you."  
  
"I hope you're right," Willow's voice was much softer now. "But I just can't help feeling like things are about to go so horribly wrong. I thought I had hit rock bottom after everything that had happened with Dawn, but--"  
  
"Ssshh," Angel hushed her, placing his arms around her and drawing her into his embrace. "I know this seems impossible, but just try not to think the worst. You're Willow, remember? One of the good guys. One of my best friends. Nothing's ever going to change that."  
  
Hearing his words, Willow tightened her grip on the vampire as she tried to lose herself in the comfort of his arms. When had her life spun so dreadfully out of control? When had it gotten to the point that she could no longer tell who she was, or even who she was supposed to be? Could she really be this Warrior from the scrolls? Or was Angel right, and she was just jumping to conclusions? But it all seemed to make sense, and yet...she could never turn against her friends, right? She could never be evil...  
  
No. Of course not. Angel was right: she was Willow. No matter how much she had changed over the years, deep down, that kind, innocent, compassionate young girl still lived inside of her, and as long as she remembered that, as long as she had friends like Angel and Buffy and Xander and Tara, she would be all right. As long as she held onto the belief in her friends, and in herself, everything would be all right.  
  
Willow had no idea that those beliefs were about to be shattered.  
  
END PART SEVEN  
  
Author's Note: I realize that everyone's coming across that one prophetic line about Sunnydale in the midst of everything that could be written in the scrolls is a bit contrived, but it makes this part of the plot so much easier to write, and helps to get the ball rolling for the rest of the story, so I hope my readers will be gracious enough to overlook the fault. Thanks. 


	8. Part Eight

Review Responses:  
  
Jeanny: Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad the relationships seem natural - I'm trying to keep everyone fairly in character, and it's really good to know that it's working so far. =)  
  
PART EIGHT  
  
Lilah sighed as she reclined against the seat of the car she and Kiren had rented to drive to Sunnydale. Although she had only been in Sunnydale for less than half-an-hour, she already couldn't wait to get the job done and get out. She hated the feeling of being back in a small town, and already her mind had begun to play memories long repressed...  
  
Her mental drifting was interrupted as the shrill ring of her cellular phone cut into the silence. Quickly checking the number, Lilah noted the call was from Gavin, who had opted to stay behind to monitor developments in Los Angeles. Before she left, the two of them had contacted the people Wolfram & Hart had employed to handle cases involving high magicks, and had ordered them to have their psychics perform a trace on Sunnydale to locate the most powerful witch in the vicinity.  
  
"Is the trace complete?" Lilah questioned immediately after answering her phone.  
  
"Of course," Gavin replied smoothly. "We have the name, address, and a bit of information on our young witch. You ready?"  
  
Lilah pulled out her pen and notepad as she asked, "And you're sure this is the strongest one in Sunnydale?"  
  
"Positive. I have to admit I was a bit surprised, though. In a place like Sunnydale, I expected there to be more talent, but the psychics could only come up with a handful of people who had any real power. This one has the most."  
  
"So she could very well be our girl."  
  
"Yes, it's highly likely that she is," Gavin agreed.  
  
After ending her call with Gavin, Lilah took a few minutes to review the information she had recorded, beginning with the witch's name.  
  
Tara Maclay.  
  
***  
  
"Angel? May I have a word with you?" Wesley asked as he poked his head into his office and noticed Angel seated in the chair behind his desk.  
  
"Of course," Angel smiled as he stood up, "it is your office after all."  
  
"Yes, well, it's just, I wasn't sure if you needed a moment to yourself..." Wesley replied as he stepped fully inside the room. He had noted that Angel chose to remain in the office, even after Cordelia, Willow, and Fred had left the hotel for a 'girl's night' at Cordelia's place.  
  
"It's alright," Angel reassured him again. "I was just doing some thinking." After Willow had left, Angel had mentally replayed their conversation. Although he hated to admit that Willow's theories made sense, he did not--could not--believe that she was connected to this mess.   
  
"I see," Wesley's voice brought Angel out of this thoughts.  
  
"I assume you wanted to talk?" Angel asked, re-focusing his mind.  
  
"Yes, I did. But you're welcome so sit back down," Wesley indicated the chair Angel had just vacated.  
  
"You sit. It's your desk. I'll just sit here," Angel motioned as he sat down in one of the chairs in front of Wesley's desk.  
  
Wesley cleared his throat as he took his seat across from Angel, not quite sure how to begin the conversation he was itching to have with the vampire.  
  
"You want to talk about Willow?" Angel began, noticing the ex-Watcher's discomfort.  
  
"Yes," Wesley nodded, quickly lapsing into silence once again. Where did he begin? After reading the translations Willow had made, it became clear to Wesley *why* Willow had reacted--this Warrior was apparently associated with Sunnydale, and it could very well be that Willow knew who the person was--but it still didn't explain the *way* she reacted. Did she know something more? Or was it something else entirely? Did she discuss any of it with Angel? And was it even his place to ask? It was true that he had never gotten the chance to know Willow all that well, and that merely added to his uneasiness in dealing with issues that so intimately concerned the young woman.  
  
"And you want to know what we talked about?" Angel continued, not finding it at all difficult to read what was on Wesley's mind.  
  
"Is it that obvious?"  
  
"It's not like there's much else going on," Angel shrugged.  
  
"No, I suppose not. Is she alright?"  
  
"She will be. I think this night at Cordy's will be good for her."  
  
"That's good," Wesley smiled. After a pause, he decided to just jump right into the issue, "I'm sure you know that Willow may have a link to the Warrior mentioned in the scrolls."  
  
Angel's eyes suddenly snapped to his, unsure of exactly how much Wesley knew. "You read the translation?" he asked, realizing that must have been Wesley's clue.  
  
"Of course," Wesley explained, "and it mentioned the Hellmouth. So, what I'm wondering is whether or not Willow knows this person."  
  
Angel opened his mouth to respond, then quickly shut it again after deciding that he couldn't really say anything. As much as he felt Wesley deserved to know the full truth as to what was going on with Willow in Sunnydale, he also understood that it was ultimately up to Willow to tell the others when she was ready. If Angel took it upon himself to explain to Wesley what he knew, he was fairly certain that Wesley would jump to the same conclusions that Willow had--a conclusion that Angel refused to accept.  
  
Noticing his friend's pointed silence, Wesley sighed. "Look, Angel, I know that Willow's been dealing in fairly strong magicks these past few months. That, and the way she reacted just now...it's obvious that she knows something, and it's obvious she confided in you. You know that this is an extremely important matter -- we have no idea how much Wolfram and Hart already know about the subject, or even what they're planning this very moment."  
  
"You're partially right," Angel finally relented a little, realizing that his friend had a point, "but there's more to it than that. And it involves some things that Willow really needs to tell you herself."   
  
"And will she?" Wesley questioned. "It's obviously a very touchy subject, and it isn't as though I know her as well as you or even Cordelia."  
  
"She will. When she's ready."  
  
"And when will that be?" Wesley couldn't keep the slight trace of irritation out of his voice. What was so bad that Angel felt that he couldn't trust him with the knowledge? Why had they spent the last day chasing frantically after the meaning in the scrolls, if Angel was just going to sit back and tell him to wait for Willow to explain whatever was bothering her?  
  
"I'm sorry, Wesley, I know this is frustrating for you--"  
  
"We have to find this Warrior before Wolfram and Hart do."  
  
"I know," Angel nodded. "Which is why, in the meantime, I think we should go through more of the scrolls, find out everything we can about this person."  
  
Knowing that he wasn't going to get anything more out of Angel, Wesley merely exhaled and shrugged his agreement. "All right. I suppose it's all we can do at the moment."  
  
"Thank you, Wes," Angel smiled at the man. He had done enough brooding for one night. Now was the time to begin searching for answers--answers he prayed would lead him far away from Willow.  
  
***  
  
"Can I help you?" Tara asked, warily eyeing the couple that was standing on her doorstep. She really wasn't in the mood for visitors. After Willow had left for Los Angeles, Tara found herself slowly slipping into a state of depression. Tara knew that when Willow had told of her plans to go, she had encouraged it, believing that the distance would do them some good, but the separation had been harder than she could have ever imagined. It was a good thing that Dawn, and occasionally Buffy, had a made a point to stop by frequently to spend some time with her. She really enjoyed the company, and at the moment it was the only thing keeping her from constantly dwelling on Willow's absence. In fact, she was expecting Dawn to stop by any minute.  
  
"Hi, my name is Lilah Morgan," the brunette extended her hand to Tara, offering her an overly eager smile. Tara shook her hand a bit hesitantly, feeling that something wasn't quite right with the woman, and especially with the grim-featured man standing next to her.  
  
"This may or may not sound very strange to you," Lilah continued, "but I work with a group of people who deal with... supernatural events, I suppose you could say."  
  
Tara lifted an eyebrow, not quite sure where this was headed, but it wasn't everyday that someone showed up on her doorstep wanting to talk about the less-publicized aspects of life in Sunnydale.  
  
"And?" she asked, trying her best to keep her tone friendly.  
  
"Well, you see...could we come in?" Lilah suddenly asked. Sensing the girl's reluctance, she quickly added, "This really isn't something I'd prefer to discuss out here where anybody could happen to overhear us."  
  
"I really don't think that's a good idea," Tara shook her head, not really sure why her mind was screaming at her in warning, "I just recently moved in and the place is a mess, so--"  
  
"We don't mind," Lilah cut her off, "it's just that, well, we really need your help." During her conversation with Gavin, Lilah had learned that the girl had been involved with the Slayer, meaning that asking for her help would probably be the easiest way to get into her good graces. Considering that she had expected the witch to be partial to dark magicks, the knowledge that she was yet another do-gooder had confused Lilah. But she needed answers, and conversing with this girl was probably the only way to get them.  
  
"My help?" Tara asked.  
  
"I'd really rather not talk about this out here," Lilah once again pleaded, feigning earnestness.  
  
Tara sighed as she stepped back and opened the door a bit wider. If these people really did need help, the she was obligated to do what she could, but a part of her wondered why they had come to *her* of all people.  
  
"Thank you," Lilah smiled at the girl as she entered, casting a swift glance about the room. Her gaze fell on a picture, placed on a small writing desk next to the door, of the witch joyfully embracing another redheaded female. Lilah grinned slightly at the obvious meaning behind the photograph, but chose not to comment.  
  
"Please, sit down," Tara offered as she motioned towards the couch.  
  
After taking a seat, Lilah spoke, "I'm sure you'd prefer if I just got right down to business."  
  
"It would help to know why you're here, yes," Tara responded.  
  
"Okay. I wanted to talk to you about a certain group of demons that have been on a bit of a rampage recently. I've done some research on them, and it turns out that the only way to...subdue them is through the use of a fairly powerful spell."  
  
Tara's face lit up in understanding, "And you need a witch."  
  
"Exactly. We heard that there was a pretty powerful witch here in Sunnydale, so--"  
  
"I'm sorry," Tara automatically cut the woman off, believing that she was there to talk to her about Willow, "but she isn't in town right now."  
  
Lilah's curiosity was automatically peaked upon hearing her statement. She? Could it be that this was in fact the wrong girl, and that there was another, more powerful, witch in Sunnydale? Not one to miss a beat, though, she continued fluidly, "I'm sorry to hear that. Do you know where I could get in touch with her?"  
  
Unable to explain her growing sense of unease, Tara replied, "No, I'm sorry."  
  
"I see," Lilah purposely let her disappointment show. "Well, do you think it's possible for--" she was cut off by the ring of her cellular phone. "Ah, excuse me for a minute." She stood up and walked towards the door, answering the phone in hushed tones.  
  
"Lilah, it's Gavin," her caller replied swiftly.  
  
"What is it now?" she snapped at him.  
  
"We have a small problem. The girl you're with isn't the one we're looking for."  
  
"And how do you figure that?"  
  
"Because, it turns out that the witch we're looking for happens to be shacked up with Angel at the moment."  
  
"Please tell me you're joking," Lilah groaned at the news.  
  
"Deadly serious. I've been watching our resident vampire, and he recently had quite an interesting conversation with a young redhead about her connection to the scrolls."  
  
"Really?" Lilah's eyes traveled back to the photograph on the desk. "Could you give me a description?"  
  
"Of the girl?" Gavin asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, it's not like I have a detailed description, but I'd say shoulder-length red hair, average height, slender, green eyes--"  
  
"That's perfect," Lilah smiled into the phone.  
  
"Perfect? Have you forgotten that she's with Angel? Meaning that she's entirely inaccessible?"  
  
"Not entirely," Lilah exchanged a meaningful glance with Kiren, who had remained stationed next to the door, and who interpreted the look with a knowing nod. "In fact, I think we've just stumbled upon the perfect opportunity."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Gavin asked suspiciously.  
  
"You'll find out when we get back," Lilah replied smugly, quickly ending the call. She was suddenly very glad that she had the forethought to bring Kiren along.  
  
***  
  
"Oh, god," Dawn breathed as she entered Tara's apartment, taking in the sight before her. It was obvious there had been a struggle, and Tara was nowhere in sight. "Buffy," she murmured, trying to keep herself from panicking, "I have to get Buffy." And with that, she took off towards home.  
  
END PART EIGHT 


	9. Part Nine

Review Responses:  
  
Daylight: Thank you so much for the review! I'm so glad you're enjoying the fic! Willow and Angel are (generally) my favorite charactrs, so I really like writing about them, and it's good to know you like reading about them! =)  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay, I am *not* happy. I've spent a few months now writing and planning this fic out, and then what happens? I see the trailer for next week's "Buffy" episode. May I repeat that I am *not* happy. More notes at the end of this part.   
  
PART NINE  
  
"Oh my gosh, Willow you are a *godsend*!" Cordelia squealed in delight as she stood leaning over Willow's shoulder and watching the actions the redhead was performing on her computer at the Angel Investigations office.  
  
Willow smiled in relief, "It's good to know I've still got my touch with these babies."  
  
"What's going on in here?" Gunn asked as he entered the hotel.  
  
"Hey Gunn!" Cordelia greeted as she turned her head to give the man a brilliant smile, "Willow was just fixing up the computer."  
  
"Damn, you're telling me this chic knows her way around magick *and* technology? Pretty dangerous combination if you ask me."  
  
Willow's fingers froze momentarily over the keyboard as she heard Gunn. Forcing herself to take a deep--and quiet--breath, Willow reminded herself that it was just a joke. She wasn't dangerous.  
  
"By the way, how'd the 'girls night' go?" Gunn continued.  
  
"Oh, we had the best time!" Fred exclaimed, coming back into the room with a platter full of tacos. "We spent practically the whole night talking about--"  
  
"--Our favorite movies," Cordelia suddenly cut in, giving Fred a slightly panicked look, "you know, those old classics?"  
  
Catching Cordelia's meaning, Fred smiled as she added, "Right, 'cause, you know, it turns out we're all big movie fans."  
  
"Uh-huh, movies, right," came Gunn's distracted reply. Willow turned to see him hungrily eyeing the tacos Fred was carrying. "Um, are you gonna eat all of those?" he finally asked.  
  
Fred giggled as she placed the tray on a table and picked up a taco for herself. "No, silly, they're for all of us."  
  
"Great," Gunn said, leaping forward, "'cause I am starved."  
  
Cordelia, too, moved to grab a taco, but was stopped by the ringing of the telephone. "I'll get it," she sighed as she moved towards the phone, sending a forlorn glance at the tray of rapidly vanishing food.  
  
"Angel Investigations, we help the--Buffy?"  
  
Willow's attention automatically turned to Cordelia as she heard the name of her best friend.  
  
"What's going on?" Cordelia asked, sounding concerned. Her eyes locked onto Willow's as she continued speaking into the phone, "Yeah, she's right here. Let me give her the phone."  
  
"What is it?" Willow whispered as she stood and walked over to the brunette. Cordelia merely shrugged as she handed the receiver to Willow, whispering back, "Beats me, but she sounds upset."  
  
"Buffy? What's wrong?" Willow questioned after taking the phone.  
  
"Hey, Will," Buffy's voice was tight with worry. "You doing okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. What's going on?"  
  
There was pause before Buffy finally answered, "I'm not quite sure how to say this, so I guess I'll just say it. Will...Tara's gone."  
  
"Gone?" Willow's eyes widened in shock, and her heart began to beat just a bit faster, a feeling of panic gripping at her. "What do you mean 'gone'?"  
  
"Dawn went over to her place--they had this thing planned for today--but when she got there, Tara was... She came to get me--*Dawn* came to get me--and, well, it looks like Tara was taken...by force."  
  
"You're telling me Tara was kidnapped?" Willow's voice quivered.  
  
"It looks like it," Buffy replied softly, "I'm sorry."  
  
"But...by who?" Willow demanded. "Why would anyone be after Tara?"  
  
"I don't know, Will," Buffy tried to offer any type of vocal comfort she could, "but we're doing everything we can to find that out. I just thought you should know. I figured you'd want to come back, help us search."  
  
"Yeah," Willow nodded absent-mindedly, still reeling from the news. The memories of when Glory had robbed Tara of her sanity came floating back to her mind, but Willow found that she could not feel the emotions associated with those memories. Trapped in a numb state of shock, she simply stood there, clutching the phone tightly to her ear, fighting back the fear that she might never see Tara again.  
  
Images of the many loving moments she and Tara had shared flashed in her mind: seeing Tara for the first time at that crazy Wicca group meeting; spending hours on end together in her dorm room, just talking about anything and everything that came to mind, simply enjoying each other's company; their first kiss; all the times they'd do simple spells together...  
  
Spells.  
  
Magick.  
  
Buffy's resurrection.  
  
The Aiterion Scrolls.  
  
"Willow?" she could hear Buffy frantically trying to recapture her attention. "Willow, are you still there?"  
  
Willow struggled to overcome the wave of panic and guilt that suddenly washed over her, but she found it too difficult.   
  
Noticing the redhead's state of shock, Cordelia gently laid a hand on Willow's arm. "Willow?" she called softly to her.  
  
Trapped in her own world of mental torment, Willow could not respond. Her fingers went slack as the receiver slipped from her grasp, the weight of it bringing the entire phone clattering to the ground with a resounding crash that echoed throughout the lobby of the silent hotel.  
  
"Holy crap, Willow!" Cordelia put her arms out to steady the girl before she could collapse from shock.  
  
"Tara's gone," Willow murmured as she leaned against Cordelia for the support her own body would not give her.  
  
"What's happened?" Angel suddenly came racing down the stairs, brought by the sound of the phone crashing to the floor.  
  
"It's Willow," Fred explained to him quietly, "she got a call from Buffy, something about--"  
  
That was all Angel needed to hear as he ran towards Willow, taking her from Cordelia's arms. "I've got her," he reassured the brunette. "Willow, look at me," he commanded her gently as he began to lead her towards a chair.  
  
"I'm so sorry," was all she could manage to say.  
  
"Willow, you have to tell me what's happened," Angel told her, finding himself panicking by the grief-stricken expression on Willow's face.  
  
"Buffy?" Cordelia whispered into the phone, having picked it back up. "What is going on?"  
  
"I could ask you the same thing," Buffy exhaled in relief at finally hearing someone on the line, "what happened to Willow?"  
  
Cordelia sent a quick glance to where Willow was seated, Angel kneeling before her, his hands holding her own as he tried to coax her out of her catatonic state. "She's in shock."  
  
Buffy sighed sadly as she heard Cordelia. "I guess I picked the wrong way to break the news."  
  
"If I heard Willow right, I don't think there was a right way to break that kind of news. Do you know what happened?"  
  
"No," Buffy replied, "but I swear I'm gonna find out."  
  
"Oh, god, Angel... this is all my fault!" Cordelia heard Willow cry out.  
  
Deciding that having her attention divided between both Buffy and Willow was a bit much at the moment, Cordelia quickly spoke into the receiver, "Look, Buffy, why don't I give you a call in a little while, after Willow's calmed down a bit."  
  
"Okay," Buffy agreed after a slight pause, desperately wanting to talk to Willow, but knowing that there was nothing she could say at the moment. "Take care of her."  
  
"You know we will," Cordelia smiled before hanging up. Turning her attention back to the redhead, Cordelia watched as she cried softly against Angel's shoulder. She next shifted her gaze to Fred and Gunn, who were standing together a few feet away, looking slightly out of place. Walking over to them, she whispered, "Maybe we should give them a bit of privacy."  
  
"Sounds good," Gunn nodded.   
  
As the trio turned to leave, they saw Wesley enter the building and pause at the sight that greeted him. After sending a concerned glance in Willow and Angel's direction, he quickly moved towards the others, his face expressing the many questions that were running through his mind.  
  
"Got a call from Sunnydale," Cordelia automatically began to explain to Wesley as he approached them. "Tara's apparently been taken by something."  
  
"Tara? Willow's girlfriend?" Wesley asked, only vaguely recalling having heard that name before.  
  
Cordelia nodded, her gaze once again drawn back to Willow and Angel. Willow seemed slightly more composed, and she was nodding in agreement at something Angel was saying to her. Angel then stood up and turned to face the rest of them, indicating that it was all right for them to come over.  
  
The group shuffled almost nervously toward the pair, eyes darting quickly from one to the other.  
  
"I have something that I really need to tell to all of you," Willow sniffled softly, fighting back the last of her tears. She had put this off long enough, and Tara had suffered the consequences. It was time to finally come clean, and maybe, just maybe, she could find some way out of this nightmare.  
  
"What is it?" Fred asked, her voice filled with compassion.  
  
Willow looked at each of them in turn, her gaze lingering on Cordelia for a moment before lastly falling onto Wesley. "It has to do with what happened last night, with the scrolls."  
  
Wesley exchanged a silent glance with Angel as he prompted Willow to continue.  
  
"There's actually a lot more to it," Willow began to explain hesitantly, "starting back when I performed the spell to bring Buffy back to life."  
  
***  
  
Nearly an hour later, the occupants of the hotel were seated in a small semi-circle, staring silently at anything except the tortured redhead who had finished her tale just minutes before.  
  
"So you think Wolfram and Hart are behind Tara's disappearance?" Wesley finally asked.  
  
"It makes sense, doesn't it?" Willow replied sadly. "I mean, from what Angel's told me about them, they're pretty ruthless, and they have all sorts of connections. Tara's a witch too, and she was there with me when we, when I... she was just always there with me."  
  
Angel wrapped an arm across Willow's shoulders and drew her close to him reassuringly. "If they do have her, I promise you we'll get her back."  
  
"Okay, is anyone else concerned about the fact that if Wolfram and Hart are behind this, they're gonna be coming after Willow with everything they've got?" Cordelia questioned.  
  
"Let them try," Angel growled, "I'll kill every single one of those bastards before they can even lay a finger on Willow." Angel felt the demon stirring within him, and found he had to use more force than normal to push it back down again. Perhaps he had been too generous when he offered only a warning after they pulled the stunt with Cordelia's visions, because this time Wolfram and Hart had gone too far.  
  
"Uh, Angel?" Gunn asked nervously, "I seriously hope you're not about to relapse."  
  
"Relapse?" Fred inquired softly.  
  
"It's a long story," Cordelia was quick to dismiss the still-touchy subject, "but I'm backing Angel up on this one."  
  
Willow gave the ex-cheerleader a heartfelt smile. "Thanks, Cordy, but I really think we should concentrate on getting Tara back rather than keeping me safe. This whole thing is my fault anyway."  
  
"I want you to stop saying that," Angel's tone was stern, "none of this is your fault."  
  
"Angel, if I *am* the one in the scrolls--"  
  
"Then we will handle it."  
  
"But what if--"  
  
"You're not evil," Angel cut her off again, knowing where she was headed with her self-deprecating arguing. "Nothing can make you evil."  
  
"It just seems like everything has spiraled out of control," Willow sighed. Ever since she had learned that she had pulled Buffy out of Heaven, her life had become so unrecognizably twisted that she barely even recognized it anymore. She had allowed her own power to corrupt her, inadvertently betrayed her best friend, lost the woman she loved, sunk so far into depression that she had put her life in danger, ended up hurting the people closest to her, and now, now she was learning that she could end up becoming Angel's enemy, and even that *knowledge* was having its repercussions--on the very person she loved most in this world.  
  
"I'm just so tired, Angel."  
  
Angel was about to respond, but was interrupted by the telephone ringing once again. Assuming it was Buffy with more news, he squeezed Willow's hand gently in support before going to answer the call.  
  
"Angel Investigations," he answered obligatorily.  
  
"Angel, how are you today?" asked an unmistakably snide voice.  
  
"Lilah," Angel snarled, "what the hell do you want?"  
  
"Now, now, is that any way to talk to someone who's just trying to offer you an olive branch?"   
  
Angel could practically envision the smug smirk plastered across the woman's face, and it irritated him to no end. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"It's very simple, really. You see, you happen to have something that we're very interested in obtaining, and as it turns out, we happen to have something that I'm sure you're desperate to get back."  
  
"Get to the point."  
  
"All right then. I'm calling to propose a trade."  
  
***  
  
"Willow, are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" Angel asked, his hands on Willow's shoulders, his gaze pinning her attention to him.  
  
"For the last time, Angel, I'm sure," Willow told him slowly, trying to emphasize her resolve. "I have to do this. I have to make sure Tara's safe."  
  
"You know we can find some other way," Buffy stepped forward, speaking softly.  
  
After Angel had received the phone call from Lilah, he had told Willow about the lawyer's demands. Willow had automatically agreed to the trade, and no amount of arguing from him, Cordelia, or even Wesley, could dissuade her. They had tried to warn her of all the possible ways this could go wrong, but Willow had held firmly to her decision, only agreeing to a mild compromise of calling Sunnydale first to let her friends know what was happening.  
  
That phone call, of course, had brought Buffy and Xander running to Los Angeles, intent on providing what assistance they could to bring both Willow and Tara home safely. They, too, had made a futile attempt to talk Willow out of her decision. In the end, it was decided that Willow and Angel would go to the location specified for the trade, as Lilah had demanded, but that Buffy would come along secretly as backup, in case anything went wrong.  
  
Shaking her head at Buffy, Willow replied, "What if something happens to Tara in the meantime? How would I live with that?"  
  
"And if something happens to you?" both Buffy and Angel countered.  
  
Willow sighed, her eyes downcast as she stared at the floor. "I know you guys don't want to see me get hurt," she looked up to gaze at both of them, "but I love Tara. I don't know what I'd ever do without her. And both of you know you'd be doing the exact same thing if it was someone you loved."  
  
Buffy and Angel exchanged slightly uncomfortable glances, recognizing the truth in Willow's words.  
  
"Alright," Angel finally relented completely. "But if I get even the *smallest* indication that you're in danger--"  
  
"You can play the part of the White Knight that you're so used to," Willow smiled at him.  
  
Buffy felt her heart constrict slightly as she watched the ease with which the two interacted. There had been a time when she and Angel had had that flowing connection, but it was a time so long ago. Even though she realized that a relationship with Angel could only remain as part of her past, she didn't understand why it still affected her every time she saw him. They had moved so far apart from each other, that had been revealed with painful clarity during their rendezvous, after Angel had learned she was back from the grave, and yet Buffy found that she could not let go of the small piece of him that still lived in her heart.  
  
"We all set then?"  
  
Willow's nervous question brought Buffy out of her thoughts, and she flashed her companions a smile filled with the confidence she didn't feel. "Ready. I'll be waiting here for Angel and Tara to come out, and if all goes well, we'll be back for you in no time."  
  
"Good," Willow nodded, turning to Angel. "Let's go."  
  
Angel sent once last look at Buffy, silently reminding her to keep her eyes and ears open for the slightest hint of danger, then moved to follow Willow into the abandoned warehouse.  
  
***  
  
"Ms. Rosenberg, may I say that it is a pleasure to finally meet you," Lilah greeted the couple standing before her.  
  
"Too bad I can't say the same," Willow threw back at her.  
  
"Really, Angel, must your associates always be so hostile?"  
  
"We're here like you asked," Willow continued, her words clipped in anger. "Where's Tara?"  
  
"Your girlfriend's on the way," Lilah stated, "You know, I really do think that the two of you make a cute couple."  
  
"You said she'd be here," Angel stepped forward, his patience practically non-existent.  
  
"And she will be. We simply had to make sure you'd keep up your end of the deal."  
  
"You're the only one who'd pull a double-cross," Angel snarled.  
  
"True," Lilah smiled, "but I've got to cover my bases."  
  
Movement at the other end of the room caught Angel's attention, and he and Willow watched as several new figures appeared.  
  
"Ah, and here's the little witch," Gavin announced as he appeared next to Lilah.  
  
"Oh my god, Tara!" Willow suddenly rushed forward as she spotted her beloved hanging limply within the grasp of two commandoes. "What have you done to her?"  
  
Just as Willow was within arm's length of Tara, a barrier erupted between the two, sending Willow flying back against the wall.  
  
"Willow!" Angel's game face emerged as he growled and launched himself towards the men holding Tara captive. Unfortunately, he, too was sent sprawling backwards.  
  
"What the hell are you trying to pull?" Willow snapped viciously at the five people standing before her as she rose to her feet, casting a swift glance in Angel's direction to make sure he was okay.  
  
"Insurance," Lilah stated simply. "We happen to have a few of our own spell-casters, and this one here," the fifth figure stepped forward slightly, "has a barrier running around your girlfriend that also happens to prevent her from using her powers. Once you're safely in our...care, the barrier will be released."  
  
Angel, who was once again standing protectively next to Willow, countered, "Or the barrier could close in on her and kill her. I happen to be familiar with how these work."  
  
"We assure you that won't be the case," Gavin stepped in, "so long as Ms. Rosenberg refrains from using her own powers. We have no desire to see anyone die here tonight."  
  
"You think I'm just going to accept your word on that? Release the barrier now," Angel commanded.  
  
"You're not the one in a position to give orders here," Lilah replied. "As you yourself just pointed out, we could have her killed on a moment's notice."  
  
"Try it and you all die," Willow's voice was pitched low, her eyes menacing. She was trying her best to keep the magick within her buried, but she even as she stood there, she could feel the desire to simply blast away everyone in the room building within her.  
  
Lilah took an involuntary step back as she noted the gleam in the redhead's eyes. "As we've said, Ms. Rosenberg, so long as you refrain from using your powers, your girlfriend will be returned safe and sound."  
  
"And me? What do you have in store for me?"  
  
"We'd simply like to talk with you," Gavin answered smoothly.  
  
"Talk? I really don't think you went through all this trouble just so we could sit down over a cup of coffee and *talk.*"  
  
At that moment, a loud crash came from the entrance Willow and Angel had used earlier, and the occupants of the room whirled around to find a young blonde crashing through the door, bleeding from a bullet wound in her shoulder.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Lilah asked the commando who had stepped in behind her, his gun still trained on the girl.  
  
"She was snooping around outside," he replied.  
  
Buffy quickly regained her balance, glaring at the people in the room. "As I already told the not-so-nice man with the gun, I was just passing by."  
  
"Passing by? Really?" Gavin raised en eyebrow, "Considering that you're the Slayer, I'd say that's quite a big coincidence."  
  
"Oh, so you've heard of me?" Buffy flashed them a quick smile.   
  
Unfortunately, her trademark flippant remarks weren't going to get her out of this mess, as Lilah smoothly commanded, "Kill her."  
  
Buffy's eyes widened as she heard the order, and she turned quickly, lashing out with a spinning back kick to the commando behind her, disarming him.  
  
And then all hell broke loose.  
  
Buffy tackled one of the commandoes holding Tara, as Angel went after the one who had previously held his gun on Buffy. Willow, intent on getting to the psychic binding Tara, barely had time to react as bullets went flying through the room.  
  
Quickly disposing of his opponent, Angel turned to see Willow advancing on the psychic. Moving quickly to her aid, he was distracted by the sight of the last commando preparing to fire at Buffy. Angel yelled in warning, allowing Buffy to evade the path of the bullet in time, but she ended up inadvertently brushing against the barrier around Tara, which sent her flying back. Angel threw himself at the other commando, the gun firing as their bodies collided.  
  
A high-pitched shriek filled the air, and Willow sank to her knees as the body of the fallen psychic crumbled on top of her, shot by the stray bullet. A second, agonized scream joined the first, and Willow's eyes snapped up to see Tara writhing in pain against the confines of her barrier, which were rapidly closing in on her.  
  
"Tara!" Willow's heart constricted painfully as she quickly scrambled to her feet, racing over to Tara. She knew she had sworn that she was finished with magick, but if it was the only way to save the woman she loved...  
  
Willow's eyes flashed as she unleashed her power, her mind set upon breaking the barrier. But even as the invisible walls around Tara shattered, Willow knew it was too late.  
  
"No!" she sobbed as she cradled Tara's limp body in her arms, "please, baby, open your eyes. Say something to me, please..."  
  
When Tara still did not move, Willow began to grow hysterical, even as she continued to gently stroke the other woman's hair, coaxing her to do something to prove she was still alive. As the harsh reality of the situation finally sunk into Willow's grief-stricken mind, she realized it was over. Once again, she had lost the person she loved.  
  
And there would be hell to pay.  
  
END PART NINE  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES (cont'd): I'm sure you see now what I was referring to in the above Author's Notes. So, I guess I have to ask: does anyone even want to read this fic anymore, seeing as how it will apparently parallel some of the events in BtVS for a while? 


	10. Part Ten

AUTHOR'S NOTES:  
  
I'm back! That's right, after a three-and-a-half month hiatus, I'm back with more of the fic. My apologies for the long wait, though. The summer was extremely busy for me, then I was out of town for a while, and what free time I did have was spent keeping my sites updated.  
  
I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who's sent me e-mail over the last few months with encouragement to continue the fic. The rest of this story is dedicated to all of you.  
  
Review Responses:  
  
Daylight: I'm very glad you're still interested!  
  
loopy-1981: At least you reviewed! *g*  
  
Jeanny: Thanks so much for the encouragement! I'm definitely going to try and keep it different.  
  
Kim: I agree with a lot of what you said, and I hope this means you also have faith in me as a writer. =) Don't worry, I'm also a sucker for happy endings, so this fic will come fairly close to having one... when it gets towards the end... whenever that may be... *g*  
  
j.c.: Sorry for putting the long wait between parts. I hope the rest of this fic will be everything you'd expect. Thanks for the kind words!  
  
Wolfboy23: Thank you!  
  
dido: I'm very glad that you like my writing! I also happen to like Willow and Angel, so we'll see what happens!  
  
Ann: Thank you so much for the wonderful compliments! I happen to really enjoy writing W/A fics, most of which involve Willow going to LA for something or another, so I'm really glad the crossover aspect was fluid. I hope the rest of the fic won't disappoint!  
  
Rebecca Anne: Thank you! As I was saying, I love Willow and Angel together, though I'm not exactly sure how to get them romantically involved in this fic. I'll probably save that for the end, or perhaps even in the possible sequel.   
  
Angelness: Okay, it wasn't 'soon', but at least I continued it. =) Glad to know you're enjoying it!  
  
FanFicFan: Here you go!  
  
little_me: Thank you!  
  
unknown: Coming right up!  
  
PART TEN  
  
"Oh my god," Buffy murmured as she stared at her best friend cradling Tara's body. Her hand clutched her chest as she struggled to keep breathing, yet she could not stop the trail of tears flowing down her cheeks. As much grief as she felt over the loss of someone she had come to love greatly, the sight of Willow and Tara's forms continually blurred and shifted into her own and that of her mother.  
  
Another death.  
  
Always death.  
  
Still rooted to his spot near Buffy, Angel also stared at the sight before him, unable to speak. After a moment, he began moving slowly towards the redhead, despite not knowing what to say.  
  
Lilah, Gavin, and the rest had used Tara's death as an opportunity to escape, and yet the anger he felt was smothered by the vision of Willow's frame hovering--completely still--over that of her lover.  
  
"Willow?" he called out gently, desperately wanting her to look up at him.  
  
A moment passed before Willow stirred slightly. Her shoulders straightened, and Angel could see her take a long, calming breath. She slowly lowered Tara's body to the ground, then stood up. After a long moment, she lifted her gaze and looked at the vampire.  
  
Angel suddenly wished she hadn't.  
  
Gone were the beautiful green orbs that Angel had become accustomed to seeing, and in their place was nothing but blackness. Willow's face was a cold mask of tightly restrained rage, the likes of which he hadn't seen in all his two-hundred-and-fifty years.  
  
She was a vision of death, and it frightened him senseless.  
  
As she began to move, Angel mentally kicked himself into gear. "Willow--" he attempted to sooth her back into her normal state, but his words were quickly sliced off.  
  
"Shut up and move," she snarled, not missing a beat as she glided right past him.  
  
"Willow, where are you going?" Buffy seemed to have snapped out of her own trance in time to see Willow's cool rejection of Angel.  
  
"Out."  
  
"Willow, wait! We have to talk!" Buffy pleaded, chasing after her friend.  
  
When Willow paused her movements, Buffy hurriedly continued. "I know what you're feeling right now. I've been there--"  
  
"So this about you?"  
  
It wasn't the words that finally shattered the already fragmented pieces of her heart, but rather the complete lack of any emotion behind them. Buffy struggled to say something, anything, but the words escaped her.  
  
"It's always about you, isn't it?" Willow turned to glare at the blonde, barely recognizing her own voice. "All of this started with you. And now it's ended with you."  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Buffy's voice quivered at the accusation.  
  
"You insisted on coming. You got caught. Tara's dead."  
  
"Willow, I was trying to help--"  
  
"If I had used my magick, all of this could have been prevented. But I swore otherwise to you, didn't I?"  
  
"Willow, wait a minute," Angel stepped in, not liking where this was headed. If that was truly how Willow felt, if she blamed even her best friend, there was no telling what threat she could represent.  
  
"You, too?" she turned her gaze to him, a slightly puzzled look being the only indication that she even distinguished his presence from Buffy's.  
  
"What happened just now--"  
  
"Will be dealt with."  
  
"Of course. But not in this way, not at this cost. Please, just come with us--" Again, he was cut off.  
  
"Sorry, some new plans just came up." With that, Willow turned around and continued towards the exit, but not before lifting her hand and motioning towards the two of them.  
  
The blast of energy that shot from her fingers sent the both of them crashing back into the far wall, giving the witch ample opportunity to disappear into the night.  
  
***  
  
"Dear lord," Wesley breathed as he sank further into the cushions of his chair, his fingers massaging his temples as he attempted to sort through the information Angel and Buffy had just given him.  
  
"And what, you just let her leave?" Xander exclaimed, his accusing stare pointed at Angel.  
  
"We didn't exactly get much of a chance to stop her," Buffy interceded on the vampire's behalf.  
  
"She could be anywhere!"  
  
"We know," Cordelia placed a reassuring hand on Xander's shoulder. "But right now, all we can do is trust that Willow will come back, once she works through her grief."  
  
Angel shook his head, "You didn't see her eyes, Cordy. She's not going to work through her grief. She can't, not in the state she's in. She's going to bury it, probably along with Wolfram & Hart."  
  
"And this is a bad thing?" Gunn inquired from his position in the corner. For the most part, he had stayed out of the conversation, allowing Willow's closest friends to deal with their tragedies.  
  
"If she takes human lives in vengeance--"  
  
"The prophecy," Wesley's whispered words halted Angel's own. "It's beginning."  
  
"But wait," Fred's normally quiet voice seemed to echo throughout the hotel, "why would Willow turn against Angel? I mean, the Warriors were supposed to be on opposing sides, and, okay, Willow's probably out for blood right now, but not ours... right?"  
  
"Fred has a point," Cordelia turned to Wesley. "Willow may not be in a good place right now, but that doesn't necessarily mean she's going to become this Warrior."  
  
Finally feeling some relief, Xander added in, "That's right. I mean, come on, this is Wills we're talking about. She wouldn't go that far."  
  
"You'd be surprised how far down a person can go when they're grieving," Buffy's tone was filled with sorrow, "when they think they have nothing left to live for."  
  
Upon hearing her words, Angel sent a quick glance in Buffy's direction. He knew all too well what she was referring to, and yet there seemed to be a hint of something more to her words.  
  
"But Will has everything to live for," Xander continued to argue. "She has all of us."  
  
"Xander's right," Angel finally spoke again. Then, as if registering his own words, he added, "this time, at least." Easily ignoring the youth's glare, he continued, "We have to find Willow and make sure she knows we're all here to help her through this."  
  
"That's easier said than done," Wesley sighed.  
  
"Okay, could you stop being Mr. Pessimist for like, two seconds?" Xander turned his anger onto the ex-Watcher.  
  
"That's not fair," Fred spoke up again, "Wesley's just trying to be realistic."  
  
"Well, he's not succeeding. He doesn't know anything about Willow--"  
  
"Xander," Buffy's commanding tone served to quiet him down for the moment. "We're not getting anywhere by just standing around and arguing. We need to come up with some plan of action."  
  
"She's my best friend," Xander's voice was much quieter now.  
  
"Mine, too," Buffy's smile was a small one, but it did the trick.  
  
"Where should we start?"  
  
"I'll start with re-examining the prophecies," Wesley offered. "The more information we have, the better equipped we'll be to deal with any situation that may arise."  
  
"I'll help," Fred volunteered.  
  
Xander raised his hand, "Me, too. I'm not so great with the whole research thing, but I'll do whatever I can."  
  
"We can always use the help," Wesley offered a conciliatory smile.  
  
"Count me in, too," Cordelia shrugged.  
  
"And me," Buffy chimed in, but was quickly silenced by Angel.  
  
"You, Buffy, need to have your wound bandaged."  
  
"What, this?" Buffy glanced down at the blood clot from the bullet wound on her arm. "It'll heal."  
  
"Or you'll have to amputate," Gunn shrugged.  
  
"Now you're getting it!" Cordelia proudly interjected.  
  
At Buffy's puzzled look, Gunn just grinned and offered his hand to the Slayer. "Let's just say I went through the same thing earlier," he said, indicating the bandages on his other arm.  
  
"Oh," Buffy nodded in understanding.  
  
"How about I take you to the hospital? I'm sure even Slayers need medical treatment from time to time."  
  
"No hospital," Buffy shook her head. "Don't you guys have any first aid stuff around here?"  
  
"Do we!" Cordelia huffed, obviously exasperated at all the injuries she was forced to tend to.  
  
Knowing that tone, Gunn simply smiled and offered, "How about I take you to them and help get you bandaged up?"  
  
Still unsure, Buffy cast a worried glance to both Xander and Angel. After receiving encouraging nods from them both, she sighed and allowed Gunn to escort her out of the room.  
  
"What about you, Angel?" Fred asked the brooding vampire.  
  
After a slight pause, he simply stated, "I'm going to get help."  
  
"From who?" Wesley inquired.  
  
"Who else?" Angel shrugged before quickly exiting the building.  
  
At the questioning look Xander gave her, Cordelia simply stated, "Psychic demon. Likes to sing."  
  
"Ah," Xander nodded, then, as an afterthought, added, "I really hope he's not the kind to make people burst out into song and dance."  
  
"Nah, just song," the brunette waved off his inquiry and headed towards the table where Wesley and Fred were already seated.  
  
With an audible gulp, Xander followed.  
  
***  
  
"I don't believe this!" Lilah snarled in frustration as she threw the folder containing all the information she had collected on the Warrior across her office.  
  
"Things did turn out pretty bad, didn't they?" Gavin asked calmly from a spot near the door, secure from the woman's wrath. Not that he was afraid.  
  
"How dare you stand there acting all smug? This was *your* failure, too."  
  
"My failure? As I recall, this whole project was completely and entirely yours. I was simply lending you a bit of assistance with my own--quite successful—project."  
  
"Why you dirty little--"  
  
"Temper, temper, Lilah," Gavin chided. "If I were you, I'd instead try and find a way out of this mess. You know the senior partners will *not* be pleased to learn that you've just turned an extremely powerful witch against us."  
  
"Oh, but I'm sure they'll hear all about it, won't they?" Lilah crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"What can I say? Good news travels fast."  
  
"Good news?" Lilah snorted.  
  
"It all depends on your perspective," Gavin smirked as he opened the door to leave. "I'll be sure to check in with you later."  
  
As the door swung shut behind him, Lilah exhaled and sank into her chair. Once again, she found herself considering her options. Survival being her strongest instinct, she took a deep breath before picking up the phone and dialing a now-familiar number.  
  
"Kiren? I have an assignment for you, and this time, you better not fail me."  
  
It was best to just neutralize the threat.  
  
***  
  
She was numb.  
  
For the millionth time that night, Willow sat simply staring at her hands. The hands she had used against her own friends. The hands that had last touched the body of her lover. The hands that had violated the most basic law of nature.  
  
And there was so much blood.  
  
It was never supposed to be this way. She and Tara were supposed to have their happily ever after. But in a cruel twist of fate, it had all been wrenched from her grasp.  
  
Again.  
  
The vision of Tara's beautiful face floated to the surface of her mind: her shimmering eyes, her shy smile, the angelic melody of her voice. The memory of her butterfly touch, of the smoldering look she would give her in the throes of passion, of the whispered words during their tender moments, they all crushed her under a blanket of darkness.  
  
And now matter how hard she tried, she couldn't cast that blanket off.  
  
Once more, the events of the night played out before her eyes, and Willow's grief quickly fueled a new wave of anger. For the briefest moment, the raw pain of Tara's death had been dulled into a hollow ache, and so Willow grasped onto that sensation for dear life. She didn't want to feel the pain. Without Tara, she didn't want to feel anything.  
  
Not even love.  
  
Love for Buffy had compelled her to bring her back, to snatch her away from the only peace she'd ever known and restore her to a world filled with destruction, greed, pain, and, inevitably, death. And it was the same love for Tara that had sealed her fate, caused her to be used as nothing more than a pawn in a deadly game that she didn't even know the rules to.  
  
A game set up and run by the bastards at Wolfram & Hart.  
  
Willow's rage quickly escalated into a burning hatred, and for the second time that night, she forced herself to reign in her emotions. She was not so weak as to be ruled by her hatred. Rather, she was strong enough to harness it.  
  
In one moment, everything that had remained untainted in her life had been stripped away, and now she was left with nothing. What, then, was the point in continuing her useless struggle? She couldn't use her magick to save Tara, so she would at least use it to avenge her. Yes, she would inflict the worst possible torture on the demons at Wolfram & Hart.  
  
After all, if there was nothing left in this life for her, if it no longer had any meaning, then what did it matter to try and salvage the broken remnants of her existence? She had but one purpose now, and afterwards...  
  
Afterwards, perhaps she would join Tara.  
  
The numbness once again settled over her heart, clouding her mind. As Willow rose from her position, she glanced down once more at her hands, watching, fascinated, as the blood began to run over her palms, down her wrists, staining the ground around her in a light puddle of red.  
  
It took her a while to realize that the rain, which had recently began pouring steadily, was washing the blood from her hands. As Willow lifted her head to gaze into the dark night sky--a sky void of any light, be it moon, star, or planet--she allowed a slow smile to spread across her face.  
  
It was only appropriate that the Heavens would weep the tears that she could not.  
  
END PART TEN  
  
So, what did you think? 


End file.
